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In our continued efforts to give our readers a broad number of views, opinions and information, we continue to provide PSG's daily market updates and add our own daily rant at the end.
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Short summary of PSG's market commentary for 14 March 2019
South Africa
Despite Brexit worries affecting investor sentiment, the local bourse ended Wednesday just in the green thanks to gains by miners. At the close of trade, the All Share was up 0.23%.
United States
The Federal Reserve's continued patient stance on future (and current) interest rate hikes boosted US markets on Wednesday. At 19h15, the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 traded almost 1% up.
Europe
On Wednesday, European markets inched up on hopes that the British Parliament would now vote for a no-deal Brexit. The pan-European STOXX 600 index closed 0.63% down.
Hong Kong
Asian indices took a beating on Wednesday due to investors acting with caution because of uncertainty around both the British exit from the European Union and the Sino-US tariff negotiations. At the end of trade, the Shanghai had fallen by 1.09%.
Japan
Wednesday was a difficult day for the Nikkei as poor machinery orders mixed with Brexit chaos and the soft US inflation move weighed heavily on the index. At 19h15, the Nikkei was 1.03% down.
Rand
The rand had a roller coaster day on Wednesday as the pound sterling fought back ground despite the political chaos in Britain. At 18h15, a dollar cost R14.41 and a pound R19.05.
Precious metals
Gold prices reached a two-week high on Wednesday due to investors seeking a safe haven because of rising uncertainties around Britain’s exit from the European Union. At 19h15, an ounce of spot gold was trading at $1 308.38.
Oil
Oil prices were lifted on Wednesday by a drop in US crude inventories, the Venezuelan power cut that halted production, and possible slower supply from the world’s top producer. At 19h15, a barrel of Brent crude was trading at $67.21.
Despite Brexit worries affecting investor sentiment, the local bourse ended Wednesday just in the green thanks to gains by miners. At the close of trade, the All Share was up 0.23%.
United States
The Federal Reserve's continued patient stance on future (and current) interest rate hikes boosted US markets on Wednesday. At 19h15, the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 traded almost 1% up.
Europe
On Wednesday, European markets inched up on hopes that the British Parliament would now vote for a no-deal Brexit. The pan-European STOXX 600 index closed 0.63% down.
Hong Kong
Asian indices took a beating on Wednesday due to investors acting with caution because of uncertainty around both the British exit from the European Union and the Sino-US tariff negotiations. At the end of trade, the Shanghai had fallen by 1.09%.
Japan
Wednesday was a difficult day for the Nikkei as poor machinery orders mixed with Brexit chaos and the soft US inflation move weighed heavily on the index. At 19h15, the Nikkei was 1.03% down.
Rand
The rand had a roller coaster day on Wednesday as the pound sterling fought back ground despite the political chaos in Britain. At 18h15, a dollar cost R14.41 and a pound R19.05.
Precious metals
Gold prices reached a two-week high on Wednesday due to investors seeking a safe haven because of rising uncertainties around Britain’s exit from the European Union. At 19h15, an ounce of spot gold was trading at $1 308.38.
Oil
Oil prices were lifted on Wednesday by a drop in US crude inventories, the Venezuelan power cut that halted production, and possible slower supply from the world’s top producer. At 19h15, a barrel of Brent crude was trading at $67.21.
Our daily update
So yesterday the Bureau of Economic Research (BER) released their RMB/BER business confidence index for quarter 1, 2019 and it does not make for good reading. Below a short executive summary as provided by the BER.
A broad-based weakening in activity pushed confidence down to worrying lows. The RMB/BER BCI declined by a further three points to 28 in the first quarter of 2019. This is the lowest level since the 27 index points recorded in the second quarter of 2017, and before that, the deep recession of 2009. Striking in the first quarter results is how broad-based the weakness in activity has become. Since taking over the reins, President Ramaphosa has launched several initiatives to help reverse South Africa's decline. But more than this is necessary to get South Africa out of its low-growth bind. Forceful, and in some instances, unpopular structural reforms must also form part of the mix.
A broad-based weakening in activity pushed confidence down to worrying lows. The RMB/BER BCI declined by a further three points to 28 in the first quarter of 2019. This is the lowest level since the 27 index points recorded in the second quarter of 2017, and before that, the deep recession of 2009. Striking in the first quarter results is how broad-based the weakness in activity has become. Since taking over the reins, President Ramaphosa has launched several initiatives to help reverse South Africa's decline. But more than this is necessary to get South Africa out of its low-growth bind. Forceful, and in some instances, unpopular structural reforms must also form part of the mix.
Our JSE All Share index daily performance calendar
Visit our JSE Calendar tracker page for a expanded version of the calendar below
The graphic below provides the daily returns of the JSE All Share Index (J203) on a calendar chart. Provides a great overview of the All share index over the course of the month. It will be updated daily with our daily investment update as received from PSG.
While the JSE All Share has seen two positive trading days in a row, the return provided by it so far for March 2019 is still in negative territory, with the returns for March 2019 being -0.34%. And while there overall returns of the JSE All Share so far in 2019 has been positive (as shown by our 2019 Calendar tracker) we are losing out in Dollar terms. We continue to advise investors to take money out of South Africa and invest it offshore. Looking for ideas for investments to make? Go read this article