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 (Feb 16): Bursa Malaysia closed higher on Friday, with the key index rising 0.34%, boosted by fresh foreign funds as well as late buying support from local funds.
At 5pm, the benchmark FBM KLCI gained 5.17 points to 1,533.55 from Thursday’s close of 1,528.38.
The key index opened 2.3 points better at 1,530.68 in the morning and moved between 1,529.3 and 1,534.53 throughout the day.
Gainers outpaced losers 553 to 449 on the broader market, while 500 counters were unchanged, 798 untraded and 11 others suspended.
Turnover slipped to 3.63 billion units worth RM2.36 billion from Thursday's 3.68 billion units valued at RM2.28 billion.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd equity research vice president Thong Pak Leng said the key regional markets also trended higher as the US Treasury yields declined and the dollar weakened against the Japanese yen and other major regional currencies, while a larger-than-expected drop in US retail sales for January prompted a slight repositioning of interest rate cut expectations.
“The local benchmark index surged and managed to surpass the stiff resistance of 1,527 on Tuesday and while it faced a pullback on Thursday, we view this correction as a healthy consolidation necessary for sustaining an uptrend.
“Even as we anticipate a brief pause for the bulls after Tuesday's strong rally, the index has maintained its position above all exponential moving averages (EMA). Coupled with the upward trajectory of the 20-day EMA, this suggests that the FBM KLCI is still in consolidation mode with a positive bias,” he said.
Among the heavyweights, Maybank Bhd added three sen to RM9.43, Public Bank Bhd rose two sen to RM4.41, CIMB Group Holdings Bhd gained five sen to RM6.41, Tenaga Nasional Bhd was eight sen higher at RM11.18, and Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd added four sen to RM6.88.
As for the actives, TWL Holdings Bhd and Hong Seng Consolidated Bhd were unchanged at 3.5 sen and two sen, respectively, Minetech Resources Bhd advanced two sen to 19 sen, while Fitters Diversified Bhd rose half a sen to five sen, and its warrant was flat at half a sen.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index was 38.6 points higher at 11,405.26, the FBMT 100 Index advanced 35.38 points to 11,053.6, the FBM 70 Index put on 41.58 points to 15,400.81, the FBM Emas Shariah Index increased by 52.73 points to 11,458.49, and the FBM ACE Index gained 8.74 points to 4,905.29.
Sector-wise, the Industrial Products and Services Index perked up 1.07 points to 176.11, the Property Index climbed 7.48 points to 928.88, the Plantation Index surged 38.15 points to 7,254.23, and the Energy Index rose 5.74 points to 895.08.
The Financial Services Index jumped 74.7 points to 17,216.55.
The Main Market volume widened to 2.42 billion units valued at RM2.13 billion from Thursday’s 2.33 billion units valued at RM1.99 billion.
Warrants turnover expanded to 816.92 million units worth RM115.87 million from 669.04 million units worth RM105.4 million the day before.
The ACE Market volume dwindled to 398.27 million shares worth RM116.78 million from 653.41 million units worth RM174.73 million units previously.
Consumer products and services counters accounted for 258 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products and services (716.97 million); construction (143.1 million); technology (371.28 million); SPAC (nil); financial services (77.3 million); property (404.36 million); plantation (67.41 million); REITs (25.81 million), closed/fund (35,900); energy (124.25 million); healthcare (62.41 million); telecommunications and media (56.35 million); transportation and logistics (27.94 million); and utilities (83.21 million).
Source: The Edge
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