JSE set for mixed start ahead of rates announcement
The JSE could get off to a mixed start on Thursday, as attention shifts towards the monetary policy committee’s (MPC) interest rate announcement later in the day.
Asian stocks were varied on Thursday, with Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index flat and Japan’s Nikkei 225 index down 1.4%. Australia’s main index was 0.6% higher, with JSE-listed BHP Group up 0.8% in that market.
Tencent, Naspers’s main asset, was 0.7% down in Hong Kong.
On the JSE front, Capitec is due to report earnings for the year to end-February on Thursday.
The banking group said in early March that its earnings in the period would increase by no more than 20%, disappointing some investors at the time.
Headline earnings per share (HEPS) would be between R45.14 and R46.30, representing an increase of between 17% and 20%, the group said.
That compares to an 18% increase in HEPS in the previous year.
Meanwhile, the SA Reserve Bank’s MPC is due to announce its interest rate decision on Thursday afternoon. No change in rates is expected.
“The MPC is likely to keep the repo rate on hold this week in the current environment of heightened uncertainty, with Moody’s rating decision on SA on Friday and the Brexit deadline also fast approaching,” Investec economist Annabel Bishop said on Wednesday.
The rand continued to weaken on Thursday morning, trading 0.2% down to the dollar at R14.63/$. Against the pound, the local currency was 0.4% weaker at R19.30/£, and versus the euro, the rand was 0.2% worse at R16.46/€.
Source: businesslive.co.za
