MARKET WRAP: JSE falls but rand steady ahead of Cyril Ramaphosa address

The JSE fell but the rand was little changed as President Cyril Ramaphosa prepares to address the country on Monday evening amid heightened speculation that SA will institute new restrictions to curb the spike in Covid-19 infections.

The rand was steady against the dollar while the JSE opened the week lower as the executive earlier discussed the outcome of an emergency meeting held by the national coronavirus command council (NCCC) on Sunday.

Hospitals have grappled with an influx of new infections, partly brought about by a new variant of the virus, with total cases now having surpassed 1-million and deaths nearing 27,000.

The all share fell 0.29% to 59,006 points and the top 40 0.31% as Naspers, which accounts for about 21% of the measure’s value, slumped 3.8% to R2,878.72. Chinese regulators are probing several tech giants for alleged anti-competitive behaviour, including Tencent, which accounts for a significant portion of Naspers’s market value.

At 5.38pm, the rand traded at R14.62/$, R17.88/€ and R19.73/£. The dollar weakened against the euro but strengthened against the pound as investors digested a $900bn pandemic relief bill signed into law on Sunday by outgoing US President Donald Trump, who had previously criticised it as insufficient the effect, and the UK’s exit from the EU.

The S&P 500 rose 0.9% to 3,735 points in early New York trade. Gold rose 0.6% to $1,890/oz, while platinum climbed 1.4% to $1,040. Brent crude was up 0.2% to $51.37 a barrel.

The R2030 government bond was little changed, with the yield steady 8.76%. Bond yields move inversely to their prices.

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Source: businesslive.co.za