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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 2 November 2018
South Africa
The JSE started November on a positive note as it gained 2%, following a strong showing by Naspers, which has managed to crawl back from recent weakness. The local bourse also shrugged off disappointing PMI data which came in at 42.4 points in October from September’s upwardly revised 44.5 points. At 18h00 the JSE All Share closed 2.27% higher.
United States
US stocks traded higher on Thursday after US President Donald Trump alluded to a potential breakthrough in US-China trade relations. Equities also made gains following strong earnings results from companies like Cigna and DowDuPont. This came after investors capped off a brutal October with a strong two-day rally that saw the Dow surge 0.67%.
Europe
Stocks in Europe traded higher on Thursday, as investors digested stronger-than-expected corporate earnings, while the sterling made significant gains after a reported Brexit breakthrough. Market focus was on the latest developments on Brexit as UK Prime Minister Theresa May agreed with Brussels on terms that secured continued access to European markets for British financial services firms post-Brexit. The pan-European STOXX 600 benchmark finished 0.41% in the green.
Hong Kong
Hong Kong stocks were set for a second consecutive day of gains on Thursday after Wall Street surged following a broad sell-off in October. Chinese benchmarks also continued slightly higher, as the latest Politburo meeting called for “healthy development” of the capital market. The Hang Seng index ended the day 1.43% higher.
Japan
The Nikkei plunged nearly 1.10% on Thursday, amid rising concerns over US trade policies and the fast-approaching US mid-term elections. The Nikkei share average ended the day lower on 21 674.00 points.
Rand
The rand strengthened against the dollar on Thursday afternoon, as news reports claimed that the EU and UK were close to a deal covering financial services. At 18h00 the rand traded R14.52 against the dollar.
Precious metals
Gold prices surged on Thursday in a weakened dollar environment, making the precious metal less expensive for other currencies. Analysts say “although a rally is not yet foreseeable, $1 250 will be the level to watch for should the dollar weaken further or equities disappoint”. After three consecutive days of declines, spot gold was up 1.62% at $1 234.60 an ounce.
Oil
Oil slipped on Thursday afternoon on track for its fourth consecutive week of declines, amid concerns over slowing global growth and frail markets. At 17h30 Benchmark Brent crude was trading at $74.04 a barrel.
The JSE started November on a positive note as it gained 2%, following a strong showing by Naspers, which has managed to crawl back from recent weakness. The local bourse also shrugged off disappointing PMI data which came in at 42.4 points in October from September’s upwardly revised 44.5 points. At 18h00 the JSE All Share closed 2.27% higher.
United States
US stocks traded higher on Thursday after US President Donald Trump alluded to a potential breakthrough in US-China trade relations. Equities also made gains following strong earnings results from companies like Cigna and DowDuPont. This came after investors capped off a brutal October with a strong two-day rally that saw the Dow surge 0.67%.
Europe
Stocks in Europe traded higher on Thursday, as investors digested stronger-than-expected corporate earnings, while the sterling made significant gains after a reported Brexit breakthrough. Market focus was on the latest developments on Brexit as UK Prime Minister Theresa May agreed with Brussels on terms that secured continued access to European markets for British financial services firms post-Brexit. The pan-European STOXX 600 benchmark finished 0.41% in the green.
Hong Kong
Hong Kong stocks were set for a second consecutive day of gains on Thursday after Wall Street surged following a broad sell-off in October. Chinese benchmarks also continued slightly higher, as the latest Politburo meeting called for “healthy development” of the capital market. The Hang Seng index ended the day 1.43% higher.
Japan
The Nikkei plunged nearly 1.10% on Thursday, amid rising concerns over US trade policies and the fast-approaching US mid-term elections. The Nikkei share average ended the day lower on 21 674.00 points.
Rand
The rand strengthened against the dollar on Thursday afternoon, as news reports claimed that the EU and UK were close to a deal covering financial services. At 18h00 the rand traded R14.52 against the dollar.
Precious metals
Gold prices surged on Thursday in a weakened dollar environment, making the precious metal less expensive for other currencies. Analysts say “although a rally is not yet foreseeable, $1 250 will be the level to watch for should the dollar weaken further or equities disappoint”. After three consecutive days of declines, spot gold was up 1.62% at $1 234.60 an ounce.
Oil
Oil slipped on Thursday afternoon on track for its fourth consecutive week of declines, amid concerns over slowing global growth and frail markets. At 17h30 Benchmark Brent crude was trading at $74.04 a barrel.
Our daily rant..
Today we rant about our fuel price, and the taxes levied on our fuel. In a article we posted yesterday we showed the average price per kilogram of crude oil imported per year, and compared it to the fuel prices paid per year in South Africa. And we found that in 2010, our fuel price at the pump was just below double the price paid per kilogram of crude oil imported. So far in 2018, the fuel price is far above double the price paid per kilogram of crude oil imported. In fact our crude oil imported per kilogram is cheaper than it was in 201202014, yet petrol prices are a lot higher than it was in 2012-214. And why is that? Well its government's continued increases in taxes added to fuel. Not a year goes by in which government doesnt raise the fuel levy or road accident fund (RAF) levy. If government spent collected taxes more efficiently there would be no need to keep raising these taxes, and consumers would feel less pain. But seems government is not in the least bit interested in the plight of consumers, just collecting as much tax as possible and lining their own pockets with corrupt and shady deals