Relief that a pro-EU party made it into the second round of France’s general election sent Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 and Topix indices up about 1% on Monday morning. France’s two-round voting system means Emmanuel Macron’s En Marche! party will face Marine le Pen’s National Front on May 7. Macron’s first place in Sunday’s election quelled the fear that French voters would face a choice between Le Pen’s National Front and Jean-Luc Mélenchon’s La France Insoumise (France Unbowed) party, which are both campaigning for a "Frexit" from the EU. Good news from France along with the promised unveiling of US President Donald Trump’s tax plans on Wednesday may help the JSE end its five trading day losing streak on Monday. The rand managed to strengthen to under R13/$ in Asian trading at about midnight Johannesburg time, and was only slightly over R13/$ at 7am on Monday morning. Although the euro strengthened 0.43% against the dollar, the rand managed to hold steady at R14.14/€. But easing political ...
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