Publications
Partners
Johannesburg - At one stage on Thursday morning it seemed that the crazy roller coaster ride on the JSE would continue, but then investors became more cautions and by lunch time the major indices were marginally lower than Wednesday’s record levels.
At one stage the All Share index was above 48 600 points, with resources shares again the flavour of the day, but by midday the All Share was 0.24% lower on 48 292. The Top 40-index lost 0.28% to 43 511 points.
The strong run of the resources index of the last few days also lost momentum and the index was 0.41% softer on 56 627 points.
This could only be attributed to some profit taking as the general mood amongst investors are still strong, after a new record on Wall Street on Wednesday and a strong performance in Asia on Thursday on another batch of good economic news.
There has been very good news about the South African economy lately, but it is clear that what happens on the JSE is not dictated by what is happening in South Africa.
The top ten shares on the JSE represent 60% of the market’s value and these companies do a lot of their business, if not most, outside of South Africa. Therefore the latest good news out of the US and news about plans to stimulate the Chinese economy, are also good news for the local market.
Analysts say indications that the Fed will continue to support the US economy is also good news for emerging markets as investors will continue to invest in these markets seeking better yields that are available in the developed world where interest rates are on record lows.
Therefore global markets will focus on the European Central Bank’s interest-rate decision due later today.
The US market got another boost last night after payrolls firm ADP said US businesses added 191 000 jobs in March, returning to the level of growth seen in December before severe winter weather struck the country. These figures also raised hopes for strong US payroll data on Friday following three months of slowing caused by the winter storms.
In addition, US factory orders rose 1.6% in February, better than the expected 1.1% increase.
China announced a series of spending measures aimed at stimulating the Chinese economy, which has shown signs of slowing in recent months. The plan includes extra spending on railways, improving low-income housing and tax relief for small businesses, which have been struggling along with the economy.
The big international stocks which have been running hard the last day or two, were all lower. Anglo [JSE:AGL] lost 1.18% to R269.78, while BHP Billiton [JSE:BIL] traded 0.33% lower on R338.57.
Rumours are still rife that BHP Billiton plans to streamline its portfolio, which could mean selling its coal assets in South Africa. Coal prices are under pressure because of oversupply.
Naspers [JSE:NPN] lost 1.84% to R1 163.40, while Vodacom [JSE:VOD] was 0.58% lower on R132.82, despite reports that it plans to buy Neotel from Indian firm Tata is progressing well.
At one stage the All Share index was above 48 600 points, with resources shares again the flavour of the day, but by midday the All Share was 0.24% lower on 48 292. The Top 40-index lost 0.28% to 43 511 points.
The strong run of the resources index of the last few days also lost momentum and the index was 0.41% softer on 56 627 points.
This could only be attributed to some profit taking as the general mood amongst investors are still strong, after a new record on Wall Street on Wednesday and a strong performance in Asia on Thursday on another batch of good economic news.
There has been very good news about the South African economy lately, but it is clear that what happens on the JSE is not dictated by what is happening in South Africa.
The top ten shares on the JSE represent 60% of the market’s value and these companies do a lot of their business, if not most, outside of South Africa. Therefore the latest good news out of the US and news about plans to stimulate the Chinese economy, are also good news for the local market.
Analysts say indications that the Fed will continue to support the US economy is also good news for emerging markets as investors will continue to invest in these markets seeking better yields that are available in the developed world where interest rates are on record lows.
Therefore global markets will focus on the European Central Bank’s interest-rate decision due later today.
The US market got another boost last night after payrolls firm ADP said US businesses added 191 000 jobs in March, returning to the level of growth seen in December before severe winter weather struck the country. These figures also raised hopes for strong US payroll data on Friday following three months of slowing caused by the winter storms.
In addition, US factory orders rose 1.6% in February, better than the expected 1.1% increase.
China announced a series of spending measures aimed at stimulating the Chinese economy, which has shown signs of slowing in recent months. The plan includes extra spending on railways, improving low-income housing and tax relief for small businesses, which have been struggling along with the economy.
The big international stocks which have been running hard the last day or two, were all lower. Anglo [JSE:AGL] lost 1.18% to R269.78, while BHP Billiton [JSE:BIL] traded 0.33% lower on R338.57.
Rumours are still rife that BHP Billiton plans to streamline its portfolio, which could mean selling its coal assets in South Africa. Coal prices are under pressure because of oversupply.
Naspers [JSE:NPN] lost 1.84% to R1 163.40, while Vodacom [JSE:VOD] was 0.58% lower on R132.82, despite reports that it plans to buy Neotel from Indian firm Tata is progressing well.
