ECONOMIC FACTORS affected KLCI April 4th week

• Bank Negara governor Tan Sri Zeti Akhtar Aziz said any changes in Malaysia's monetary policy will be based on domestic consideration while stressing that the economy is still staying on a steady growth path. It is anticipated that the central bank may start to cut the overnight policy rate by 25 to 50 basis points.
• Interest rates hike by the United States Federal Reserve (Fed) must happen this year as the uncertainty on the timing of the hike is causing volatility in regional markets.
• The ringgit’s decline is more influenced by non-economic factors and an over-reliance on oil and gas revenue, as well as political issues.
• Moody’s Investors Service today assigned a definitive A3 senior unsecured rating to the US dollar trust certificates (sukuk) issued by Malaysia Sovereign Sukuk Bhd, a special purpose vehicle established by the Malaysian government.An aggregate interest of over US$9 billion (RM32.67 billion) drawn from the issuance of Malaysia's US$1.5 billion sukuk recently signalled foreign investors' confidence in the country's long-term economy fundamentals, a treasury official said.
• Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BofAML) expects Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) to cut the overnight policy rate (OPR) by 25bps in the second half of the year, due to weaker consumer spending, investments and exports that would lead to significantly slower growth.