Local bourse closes softer after muted session Thu, 17 Oct 2019 18:59:03 +0200
The local bourse shrugged off gains that were recorded in Europe and the United States of America following the announcement that the United Kingdom and European Union had agreed on a Brexit deal.
With the United States earnings reporting season having kicked off today following the release of earnings from some of the major banks, investors shifted their focus to the health of the US companies.
The JSE also shrugged off earlier momentum from Chinese markets which rallied on the optimism of a partial trade deal. The rand held on to its gains as it peaked at a session high of R14.72/$ before it was recorded trading 0.01% firmer at R14.79/$ at 17:00.
Reactions to the headlines about the trade war have become fickle as the tension has been drawn out, however there seems to be an elevated sense of optimism that the current talks will yield a partial deal.
Oil jumped back above $60 a barrel after reports of a missile strike on an Iranian tanker near the Saudi Arabian port city of Jeddah reignited fears over military escalation in the world’s most important crude-producing region.
The JSE retreated on Wednesday despite a broad-based rebound across the major global markets on the back of positive news from Chinese officials.
The local bourse eventually closed softer on Tuesday despite opening flat.
The JSE bucks the trend in other global markets as it surged to close firmer on Monday.
The local currency fell on news China may be reluctant to accept comprehensive trade deal with the Trump administration.
Stocks on the JSE edged marginally higher after a difficult week of trading in which investors shunned riskier assets due to weak economic data.
China has added more than 100 tons of gold to its reserves since it resumed buying in December, reinforcing its standing as one of the major official accumulators as central banks stock up on the precious metal.
South African equities traders have had a busy week, but Friday's session came with a big rugby World Cup game in the middle of the day.
The JSE closed weaker for a second consecutive session as global markets remained subdued due to weak economic data.
With the Chinese markets still closed for a holiday, the Hang Seng and Nikkei lost 0.19% and 0.49% respectively as they reacted to worse than expected US economic data.
With Chinese markets closed for a holiday, there was little sentiment filtering from that market. In Japan, the Nikkei eventually closed 0.59% firmer.
The greenback strengthened against a basket of major currencies which saw it peak as high as 99.46 index points on the US dollar index.
Equity markets have traded mixed on Friday as uncertainty around impeachment proceedings in the US continued to hold the market back.
Worries about global growth, the prolonged trade war and a moribund economy have stopped South African stocks in their tracks.
The JSE edged higher on Thursday as most blue-chips rebounded following the slump recorded on Wednesday.