MARKET WRAP: JSE firmer as global stimulus eases worries

The JSE closed firmer on Friday, taking its lead from its positive global counterparts, as investors place their hopes on stimulus measures that global central banks have implemented to soften the economic effect of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The increased spread of the virus and its effect on the global economy has sent financial markets into a tailspin, bringing much of the world to a halt. On Thursday, the SA Reserve Bank followed other central banks around the world, cutting interest rates by 100 basis points (bps) to help minimise the effect the virus might have on the SA economy.