JSE set for uptick as world markets wait for Fed announcement
The markets in Japan remain wary ahead of the Fed’s announcement with a 75 basis point (bps) interest-rate hike is expected.
“Japan’s finance minister Suki said finances would become exceedingly difficult if the Bank of Japan [BOJ] hikes rates, as that will sharply increase the cost of funding public debt. That sums it up for central banks caught between a rock and a hard place,” Innes said.
In local market news, the JSE ended firmer on Tuesday after losing some steam by the close, indicating a degree of investor caution in the lead-up to the Fed’s meeting.
The all share ended 1.11% higher at 67,414,27 points, its best level since early September, led by heavyweights Naspers and Prosus, which each gained more than 8% to R2,056.35 and R862.38, respectively.
US markets ended slightly lower on Tuesday, as the Nasdaq retreated by 0.89%, the S&P 500 0.41% and the Dow Jones 0.24%. The Nasdaq has lost 31.21% so far this year, the S&P 500 close to one-fifth (19.61%) and the Dow Jones just over one-tenth (10.75%).
The rand strengthened by 0.90% against the dollar as it traded at R18.06. The rand has depreciated by 11.71% against the greenback so far this year.
In commodities, the price of Brent crude rose 1.06% to $95.72 a barrel, platinum 0.76% to $951.20 and gold 0.22% to $1,650.00/oz.
In corporate news, pharmacy chain Dis-Chem, which has recently come under fire for a letter from its CEO placing a moratorium on employing white people, will release its interim results on Wednesday.
The company said last week that it expects its headline earnings per share (Heps), a widely used measure of profit that strips out impairments and one-off items, to increase 43.1%-45.4% to 69.7c-70.8c in its results end-August.
Source: businesslive.co.za
