WATCH: The week in perspective

The JSE ended little changed on Thursday after the US Federal Reserve’s mixed signals overnight about the trajectory of inflation and interest rates — the two interrelated themes that have been driving market psychology for months.

The R5.49-trillion resource 10 index is beholden to commodity prices, which have fallen sharply since peaking in the first half of 2022. They, in turn, have been dragged down in part by question marks over the direction of China’s economy, which has been hobbled by stringent lockdowns to control the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Banks resumed their upward march on Thursday after taking a breather on Wednesday, with the index gaining 0.44% to stretch the sector’s gains to 12.58% over the past month on a rolling basis. However, the insurance market was patchy, as were the big industrial shares.

Asian shares were left in limbo on Friday while the US dollar made all the running as recession clouds gathered over Europe and highlighted the relative outperformance of the US economy.

To put the week into perspective Michael Avery is joined by Warwick Lucas, head of Galileo Securities, Isaah Mhlanga, chief economist at Alexforbes, and Raymond Parsons, Professor at the School of Business and Governance at Northwest University.

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