JSE flat as caution prevails

The JSE was little changed in subdued trade on Tuesday morning, with markets waiting for a series of events this week that could give the market direction.

Trade on Tuesday is expected to be subdued by the Workers’ Day public holiday on Wednesday, while Japanese markets are closed until Monday for Golden Week.

A series of risk events loom, including the national elections next week. This week sees interest rate decisions by the US Federal Reserve on Wednesday and the Bank of England on Thursday, while US non-farm payrolls numbers will be closely watched on Friday.

Sentiment was dented a little by poor Chinese data. A gauge of China’s factory activity weakened sharply in April, showing that economic stabilisation had not found a firm footing yet, reported Dow Jones Newswires.

At 10am, the rand was a little weaker, weighing on banks. The rand was 0.29% down at R14.3671/$.