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Johannesburg - The JSE was slightly higher early on
Wednesday morning‚ with banks leading the upside and industrials faring worst.
At 9:29pm‚ the JSE All Share [JSE:J203] index was up 0.10%
at 37‚185.23 points‚ with the Top 40 - (Tradeable) [JSE:J200] index also up
0.10%‚ at 33‚036.43. The bank index was up 0.52% and industrials were flat
(-0.01).
Among Asian markets‚ the Nikkei 225 average closed 0.98% higher at 8‚928.29 points‚ while the Hong Kong Hang Seng index was 4.16% weaker at 9.21am local time.
On the local data front on Wednesday‚ September trade data
are due for release.
“Our analysis points to a narrowing in the trade deficit
from R12.2bn in August to R9.5bn in September‚” Rand Merchant Bank said in a
morning note.
“A still large deficit could make the market vulnerable due to risk of further rand weakness and perceptions that the South African Reserve Bank (Sarb) will not cut rates again in the face of a large external funding gap. On this score it is important to note that even the Sarb thinks the current account deficit is set to narrow a bit‚” RMB said.
“The rand is seesawing around R8.65 (to the dollar)‚ finding
support from a stronger euro and a broad-based increase in global risk
appetite.
“Most developed and emerging market equity markets pushed
higher‚ the VIX volatility index is lower and commodity currencies
strengthened....
“With trading activity expected to pick up in the coming days as the US markets re-open‚ investors will focus on Thursday's slew of global PMI data.”
