Five shares: Give your portfolio a boost with metals
Fears of a second surge in the spread of coronavirus in the US and weak economic data for that country and the global economy have let the bears loose in global markets.
The result last week was that global investors dumped riskier assets, which together with the release of the worst domestic business confidence index level on record, meant the rand depreciated sharply on Thursday, along with other emerging market currencies. The local currency regained some strength, very marginally, on Friday.
The All Share Index was at 53 185 on Friday morning, down from 54 722 points a week before. The index firmed less than 1 percent later in the afternoon, the index had surged in tandem with global markets in recent weeks – it was only at 50 074 on May 25.
Fears of a resurgence of Covid-19 have arisen because the number of infections in half of the US states have started to increase again as lockdown restrictions ease, while mass testing has also resumed in Wuhan, China, where the disease is believed to have originated, and in South Korea, where weeks ago, the country was celebrating its gains against the virus.
Also alarming were reports that while business had resumed in most respects in China, which came out of strict lockdown restrictions far earlier than other countries, consumer spending has remained muted. This is an indicator of what demand will be like in other countries as lockdowns ease, including in South Africa.
Source: iol.co.za