|
Related Topics |
|
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.
|
|
Short summary of PSG's market commentary for 20 March 2019
South Africa
The JSE pushed towards the psychologically important 57 000 point level on Tuesday, but closed lower after retailers were pressured due to reports of intensifying load-shedding. The All Share gained 0.25%.
United States
Wall Street gained ground on Tuesday, with investors expecting the US Federal Reserve to reaffirm its dovish stance as it began its two-day monetary policy meeting late last night. Shortly after the JSE closed, the Dow was up 0.47%.
Europe
Theresa May is expected to meet EU leaders on Thursday, but analysts say her attempts to get an extension on the Brexit deadline may be a tough sell. Shortly after the JSE closed, the FTSE 100 had gained 0.62%.
Hong Kong
Hong Kong stocks inched higher on Tuesday ahead of the Fed meeting where it is widely expected to strike a dovish tone. At the close of trade, the Hang Seng index was up 1.57%.
Japan
The Nikkei ended lower on Tuesday as investors took profits on exporters’ shares. The Nikkei ended down 0.08%.
Rand
The rand was slightly firmer against major global currencies on Tuesday, benefiting from a weaker dollar ahead of the Fed meeting. At 22h00, the rand traded at R14.49/$.
Precious metals
Palladium rose past $1 600 for the first time on Tuesday, on expectations that strained supplies of the auto-catalyst metal could worsen. Gold and other precious metals gained off a weaker dollar as the Fed began two days of policy meetings.
Oil
Oil prices rose to new 2019 highs on Tuesday, supported by supply cuts from oil cartel Opec and falling output from Iran and Venezuela due to US sanctions. At 22h00, a barrel of Brent crude traded at $67.41 a barrel.
The JSE pushed towards the psychologically important 57 000 point level on Tuesday, but closed lower after retailers were pressured due to reports of intensifying load-shedding. The All Share gained 0.25%.
United States
Wall Street gained ground on Tuesday, with investors expecting the US Federal Reserve to reaffirm its dovish stance as it began its two-day monetary policy meeting late last night. Shortly after the JSE closed, the Dow was up 0.47%.
Europe
Theresa May is expected to meet EU leaders on Thursday, but analysts say her attempts to get an extension on the Brexit deadline may be a tough sell. Shortly after the JSE closed, the FTSE 100 had gained 0.62%.
Hong Kong
Hong Kong stocks inched higher on Tuesday ahead of the Fed meeting where it is widely expected to strike a dovish tone. At the close of trade, the Hang Seng index was up 1.57%.
Japan
The Nikkei ended lower on Tuesday as investors took profits on exporters’ shares. The Nikkei ended down 0.08%.
Rand
The rand was slightly firmer against major global currencies on Tuesday, benefiting from a weaker dollar ahead of the Fed meeting. At 22h00, the rand traded at R14.49/$.
Precious metals
Palladium rose past $1 600 for the first time on Tuesday, on expectations that strained supplies of the auto-catalyst metal could worsen. Gold and other precious metals gained off a weaker dollar as the Fed began two days of policy meetings.
Oil
Oil prices rose to new 2019 highs on Tuesday, supported by supply cuts from oil cartel Opec and falling output from Iran and Venezuela due to US sanctions. At 22h00, a barrel of Brent crude traded at $67.41 a barrel.
Our daily update
Yesterday we covered the release of the survey of employers and self employed, a survey conducted by Statistics South Africa on non-VAT registered businesses. It highlighted a key number of interesting facts and figures regarding South Africa's informal business sector. We highlight a few below:
- Unemployment was the main reason why most people started their businesses, accounting for more than 60% of the business owners
- Seven in every ten persons running non-VAT registered businesses used their own money to start the business.
- More than 70% of non-VAT registered businesses did not keep financial records. In 2017, 67,8% of persons running these businesses had less than matric qualification.
- More than 90% of persons who ran informal businesses did so without a licence or permit, and the majority of those who had licences or permits (40,2%) obtained them from a municipality/ provincial authority.
- Gauteng (28,6%), followed by Limpopo (16,5%) and KwaZulu-Natal (14,7%), had the highest share of informal businesses.
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.
So the trading week has seen its second positive trading day in a row, with the All Share Index ending up 0.25% yesterday. so the returns for March 2019 strongly into the green now with the market up 1.58% in March so far. 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