Markets WRAP: Rand closes at R13.99/$ Fri, 22 Feb 2019 17:10:01 +0200
The rand has had a volatile week, following Finance Minister Tito Mboweni's Budget address on Wednesday.
Wall Street stocks have retreated following lackluster economic data and stumbles by some high-profile companies, including Tesla and Nike.
Shares in Hong Kong have ended the morning session lower, tracking losses on Wall Street as investors keep their focus on China-US trade talks.
The ongoing trade talks between the USA and China continue to dominate global market sentiment, and this was more evident today with the release of Manufacturing PMI data from key markets such as Germany, the Eurozone and the USA.
The JSE Gold index has broken out of an almost two-year sideways range and has a significantly higher target in place now.
Europe's main stock markets have diverged at the start of trade, with London's benchmark FTSE 100 index down 0.3% at 7 209.39 points.
Earlier TreasuryONE said investors are seemingly giving Finance Minister Tito Mboweni the "thumbs up".
Hong Kong stocks have climbed in the morning session, in line with a broad advance across Asia, as investors await news of progress in the China-US trade talks.
Tokyo stocks have shed earlier losses to end the session marginally higher, thanks to rekindled hopes for progress in the US-China trade talks.
Asian markets have been mixed after the Federal Reserve left open the possibility it could lift interest rates this year, while investors kept an optimistic eye on China-US trade talks.
TreasuryONE said earlier that the rand was likely to remain under pressure as all eyes turn to Finance Minister Tito Mboweni's Budget address tomorrow.
The day's range was R13.94 to R14.32 following an eventful day.
Stocks paused as investors struck a cautious tone ahead of the start of the next round of trade talks between China and the US.
Hong Kong stocks have ended lower as investors cautiously await the resumption of trade talks between China and the US later in the day.
TreasuryONE said earlier that the rand was likely to remain under pressure this week with the lead up to the Budget speech on Wednesday.
European and US stock markets leapt as positive signs emerged from US-China trade talks aimed at averting an escalation of a tariff war between the world's top two economies.
European equities bared no brunt from the Asian trading session as all the major bourses advanced on the back of progress in the US-China trade talks.
TreasuryONE said earlier that the rand weakened sharply against major currencies on Thursday on continued concern over Eskom and the potential further fallout.
The US dollar did retreat after the release of US retail sales data which came in worse than anticipated, but this did not result in significant strengthening for the rand and other emerging market currencies. The rand was trading 0.84% weaker at R14.18/$ at 17:00.
The JSE All-share Index is testing a critical resistance zone right now.