JSE closes flat as market seeks direction on Donald Trump’s policies
The JSE closed marginally weaker on Monday in fairly directionless trade, amid market uncertainty about whether the weaker dollar and firmer US treasuries could herald further market scepticism over president-elect Donald Trump’s economic policies. Volume traded — at R13.2bn — was lower than average. The dollar has firmed and US treasuries have weakened since Trump’s election on November 8, as the market bought into Trump’s fiscal stimulus and growth stance. However, on Monday the dollar weakened against the euro, and the 10-year US treasury was at 2.3172% from 2.3548%. It was at 1.8% before Trump’s election. The marginally weaker dollar caused the rand to firm more than 20c against the greenback, with rand hedges softening in response. Miners took their cue from higher commodity prices. The gold price had firmed 0.42% to $1,213 in late trade, while platinum was 1.90% higher to $932 an ounce. Platinum shares on the JSE, however, were weaker on the firmer rand. Global market sentimen...
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