JSE could take a breather after hitting record highs
The JSE could pause for breath on Thursday after the all share index settled at record levels, underscoring the strong underlying momentum that has been in play since the start of 2022.
The local share market has recently outperformed major stock market benchmarks, including the S&P 500 and tech-laden Nasdaq — a rare occurrence in recent history.
While the big miners and individual shares have done the heavy lifting, the so-called SA incorporated shares have held up relatively well despite uncertainties on the growth outlook.
Asian markets were broadly higher after a positive handover from Wall Street, where the Nasdaq in particular continued to recover after the index fell as much as nearly 20% below its record highs in January.
The release of US consumer inflation figures on Thursday afternoon will take centre stage. Markets have been fretting about the pace of potential hikes in US interest rates for weeks, as inflation in the world’s biggest economy is at its highest level in nearly four decades.
The consumer price index is expected to have risen at the annual rate of 7.2% in January, according to the Bloomberg median estimate, from 7% in December. Core inflation, which strips out volatile food and energy, probably rose to 5.9% year on year from 5.5%.
US Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell has previously said he expects the consumer prices to peak from June as the global supply chain bottlenecks ease.
The rand was slightly weaker in early trade at R15.23/$, but a lot stronger than it was at the start of the week when it traded at about R15.50/$.
Commodity markets were little changed, with Brent crude losing 0.44% to $91.33 a barrel.
Source: businesslive.co.za