The Bank of Russia unexpectedly maintained its key interest rate at a record-high 21% , defying analysts’ expectations of another significant hike as inflation remains stubbornly elevated. The decision marks a shift toward a more measured approach in balancing economic growth and price stability. Key Details Inflation Concerns: Annual inflation climbed to 8.9% in November, well above the central bank’s 4% target , with inflation expectations reaching 13.9% in December. Policy Rationale: The central bank cited the significant tightening of monetary conditions after October’s 200-basis point hike as sufficient to resume disinflationary processes. Governor Elvira Nabiullina emphasized avoiding both economic overheating and severe slowdowns. Economic Overheating: Elevated government spending on the war in Ukraine and social programs, coupled with labor shortages and rising wages, have fueled strong domestic demand, exacerbating price pressures...
KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 2): Bursa Malaysia ended at an intraday low on Monday due to cautious sentiment and a lack of fresh catalysts amid mixed performance by regional markets, said an analyst.
At 5pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) dropped 5.41 points to 1,418.76 from last Friday’s close at 1,424.17.
The barometer index opened 0.10 points easier at 1,424.07 and moved up to 1,428.04 during the day.
On the broader market, decliners trumped gainers 632 to 285, while 427 counters were unchanged, 951 untraded and eight others suspended.
Turnover fell to 3.01 billion units worth RM1.8 billion from 3.03 billion units worth RM2.43 billion on Friday.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd equity research vice president Thong Pak Leng said key regional indices finished mixed as investors were closely scrutinising economic data from China and Japan while awaiting the release of the US purchasing managers index (PMI) data later on Monday.
"China's markets are closed for the Golden Week holiday. Hong Kong and India’s markets are also closed for holidays,” he said.
Thong expects the market to remain cautious due to external factors such as the unpredictability of global central banks' monetary policies and the presence of inflationary pressures.
"Despite this caution, it's noteworthy that the benchmark index currently sits in an oversold position, leaving open potential bargain-hunting activities.
"We anticipate the FBM KLCI to trend within the range of 1,415 to 1,430 for the week with immediate support at 1,415 and resistance at 1,460,” he said.
At the close, heavyweights Maybank Bhd fell four sen to RM8.75, CIMB Group Holdings Bhd declined three sen to RM5.40, Tenaga Nasional Bhd slipped nine sen to RM9.90, Petronas Chemicals Bhd slid 12 sen to RM7.07, while Public Bank Bhd was unchanged at RM4.06.
Of the actives, KNM Group Bhd added 1.5 sen to 14 sen, Widad Group Bhd was flat at 51 sen, Evergreen Max Cash Capital Bhd lost one sen to 41.5 sen, Fintec Global Bhd fell half-a-sen to half-a-sen and UEM Sunrise Bhd shed 3.5 sen to 81 sen.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index declined by 43.36 points to 10,538.9, the FBMT 100 Index was 40.15 points weaker at 10,204.35 and the FBM Emas Shariah Index went down 51.38 points to 10,823.14.
The FBM ACE Index weakened by 29.13 points to 5,146.11 and the FBM 70 Index narrowed by 61.02 points to 14,132.25.
Sector-wise, the Plantation Index eased 27.21 points to 6,853.14, the Industrial Products Services Index shrank by 1.06 points to 170.43 and the Energy Index fell 5.16 points to 888.58.
The Financial Services Index erased 42.06 points to 15,876.11.
The Main Market volume eased to 1.75 billion units worth RM1.51 billion from 1.83 billion units worth RM2.1 billion on Friday.
Warrant turnover decreased to 201.25 million units valued at RM19.08 million against 351.67 million units valued at RM44.33 million previously.
The ACE Market volume stood at 1.02 billion shares worth RM266.77 million from 845.43 million shares worth RM280.84 million previously.
Consumer products and services counters accounted for 278.97 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products and services (359.53 million); construction (121.77 million); technology (84.74 million); SPAC (nil); financial services (74.78 million); property (272.15 million); plantation (71.66 million); REITs (11.01 million), closed/fund (86,100); energy (306.09 million); healthcare (50.91 million); telecommunications and media (35.44 million); transportation and logistics (55.34 million) and utilities (36.88 million).
Source: The Edge
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