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...
UALA LUMPUR (Oct 18): Bursa Malaysia extended Tuesday's gains to end at an intraday high on Wednesday, after recouping earlier losses.
However, the broader market was negative with decliners trumping gainers 616 to 265, while 438 counters were unchanged, 1,031 untraded and 10 suspended.
Regional bourses were mixed after China registered better-than-expected third-quarter (3Q) gross domestic product (GDP) at 4.9%, while the Middle East conflict continues to weigh on sentiment, dealers said.
At 5pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 2.41 points to end at an intraday high of 1,446.54 from Tuesday’s closing of 1,444.13.
The index, which opened 0.9 of-a-point easier at 1,443.23, hit a low of 1,441.06 in the mid-morning session before gaining momentum to move upwards in the late session.
Turnover increased to 3.41 billion units worth RM2.71 billion from 2.67 billion units worth RM1.92 billion on Tuesday.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd equity research vice-president Thong Pak Leng said the FBM KLCI reversed earlier losses and ended in positive territory due to late buying on commodity-related stocks while the key regional indices pared losses and closed mixed on the back of China's positive 3Q GDP, which surpassed expectations of 4.4%, but slowed from 6.3% in the preceding quarter.
"Back home, we anticipate market sentiment to remain jittery given the ongoing geopolitical conflict in the West Asia region, which has created a wait-and-see sentiment, subsequently impacting market performance negatively.
"Taking the current situation into account, we project the benchmark index to continue its sideways trajectory, and anticipate the FBM KLCI to trend within the 1,435 to 1,450 range for the rest of the week with immediate resistance at 1,460 and support at 1,430," he told Bernama.
Regionally, Singapore's Straits Times Index fell 1.11% to 3,136.62, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index trimmed 0.23% to 17,732.52 and China’s SSE Composite slipped 0.8% to 3,058.71.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 edged up 0.01% to 32,042.25 and South Korea’s Kospi added 0.1% to 2,462.60.
On the local bourse, heavyweights Malayan Banking Bhd slipped five sen to RM8.95, Public Bank Bhd slid one sen to RM4.17 and CIMB Group Holdings Bhd dipped four sen to RM5.94.
Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd rose 15 sen to RM7.65 while Tenaga Nasional Bhd gained four sen to RM10.02.
Of the actives, KNM Group Bhd eased one sen to 10 sen, Minox International Group Bhd fell 3.5 sen to 33.5 sen, Ekovest Bhd declined 3.5 sen to 47.5 sen, UEM Sunrise Bhd slid four sen to 75 sen, while Eversendai Corp Bhd's warrant added five sen to 10.5 sen.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index declined 19.13 points to 10,673.75, the FBMT 100 Index shed 11.02 points to 10,346.56, the FBM 70 Index dropped 138.53 points to 14,079.15, and the FBM ACE Index lost 71.74 points to 5,081.40.
The FBM Emas Shariah Index gained 18.51 points to 10,948.07.
Sector-wise, the Plantation Index rose 39.14 points to 6,928.38, the Industrial Products and Services Index edged up 0.87 of-a-point to 176.54, the Financial Services Index fell 78.78 points to 16,165.84, and the Energy Index slipped by 3.48 points to 878.69.
The Main Market volume increased to 2.34 billion units worth RM2.44 billion from 1.40 billion units worth RM1.58 billion on Tuesday.
Warrants turnover expanded to 337.33 million units valued at RM42.81 million against 305.12 million units valued at RM36.0 million.
The ACE Market volume tumbled to 716.30 million shares worth RM230.41 million from 972.12 million shares worth RM304.17 million previously.
Consumer products and services counters accounted for 290.89 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products and services (446.88 million), construction (325.44 million), technology (202.13 million), SPAC (nil), financial services (156.88 million), property (327.62 million), plantation (46.75 million), REITs (24.77 million), closed/fund (178,400), energy (207.47 million), healthcare (61.83 million), telecommunications and media (77.14 million), transportation and logistics (64.97 million), and utilities (109.43 million).
Source: The Edge
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