MARKET WRAP: Fed official’s hawkish comments drag JSE lower

The JSE tracked weaker global markets on Wednesday as hawkish comments by a US Federal Reserve official weighed on sentiment.

Fed governor Lael Brainard said in a virtual speech to the Minneapolis Fed on Tuesday that the central bank’s task of reducing inflation pressures was “paramount”, and it would raise interest rates steadily while starting to reduce its balance sheet as soon as May…