KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 19 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia gave up earlier gains to end mixed today, amid a higher regional market showing, as property, construction, and healthcare counters attracted buying interests, while plantation, banking, and telecommunication stocks saw some profit-taking, an analyst said. At 5 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) eased 1.70 points to close at 1,602.34 from yesterday’s close of 1,604.04. The benchmark index, which opened 0.86 of-a-point lower at 1,603.18, moved between 1,601.02 and 1,608.88 during the trading session. However, the broader market was mixed to higher, with gainers leading decliners by 565 to 438 while 502 counters remained unchanged, 961 untraded, and 14 suspended. Turnover narrowed to 2.83 billion units valued at RM2.08 billion versus 2.96 billion units valued at RM2.23 billion yesterday. Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd equity research vice-president Thong Pak Leng said the benchmark index remained range-bound and it required a dec
US consumer confidence improved in August, as indicated by the Conference Board's consumer confidence index, which rose to 103.3 from an upwardly revised 101.9 in July. This increase exceeded economists' expectations, who had forecast little change from the previously reported 100.3. Despite the overall boost in confidence, Americans expressed increasing anxiety about the labor market.
Key Points:
Rising Confidence but Labor Market Worries: While the consumer confidence index showed an improvement, there was a noticeable decline in consumers' perceptions of the labor market. The percentage of consumers who viewed jobs as "plentiful" decreased slightly to 32.8% from 33.4% in July, and those who found jobs "hard to get" rose to 16.4% from 16.3%.
Federal Reserve's Response: In response to concerns over the labor market, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell recently signaled that interest rate cuts could be on the horizon. Financial markets are anticipating a 25-basis-point rate reduction in September, though a larger 50-basis-point cut remains a possibility. The Fed has kept its benchmark interest rate in the 5.25%-5.50% range for over a year after significant rate hikes in 2022 and 2023.
Inflation Expectations: Consumers' 12-month inflation expectations decreased to 4.9%, the lowest level since March 2020. This suggests that while concerns about the labor market are growing, inflation expectations are becoming more anchored.
In summary, US consumer confidence saw a modest rise in August, reflecting overall optimism. However, underlying concerns about the labor market persist, prompting expectations of potential monetary easing by the Federal Reserve.
Comments
Post a Comment