Johannesburg - The JSE stock market opened higher on Monday
morning‚ buoyed by industrial stocks‚ while gold miners were leading the
downside‚ with traders awaiting local Kagiso PMI figures for September at 11am.
At 9:09am‚ the JSE All Share [JSE:J203] index was up 0.23%
at 35‚840.24 points‚ with the industrial index gaining 0.32% and gold counters
dipping 0.95%.
Rand Merchant Bank said in a morning note that economic data
remained weak in all three major economic zones‚ being the US‚ the European and
China.
“This morning's Chinese September PMI notably came in below
50 again‚ even though it ticked up slightly from August. Watch for other PMI
data through today‚ with key focus on this afternoon's US figure. Attention
will then shift to Friday’s September US non-farm payrolls data. The consensus
expectation is that the 115 000 jobs were created in the month‚ better than
August but still far from good enough‚” the bank said.
“Spain remains a major concern. Bank stress tests results
released on Friday show a €60bn hole that needs to be filled. With this added
burden‚ the Spanish government’s debt-to-GDP ratio now stands at 90% and
climbing rapidly. A bailout can’t come soon enough‚” the bank added.
“Apart from today’s PMI and Friday’s payroll figures‚ watch
out for the ECB meeting and the Fed minutes. Troika talks with Greece also
resume‚ although it’s unlikely there will be finality for some time‚ the bank
said.
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