The JSE opened flat on Thursday as gold shares dragged the overall market down on hawkish comments from US Federal Reserve chairperson Janet Yellen. The Dow closed 0.11% down on Wednesday and Asian markets were mixed, with the Nikkei 225 adding 0.94% and the Hang Seng losing 0.41%. Investors will be waiting for the European Central Bank (ECB) meeting later in the day, with no change to the bank’s quantitative easing (QE) programme expected. ECB president Mario Draghi was expected to provide some guidance on future rate movements. Traders were cautious amid policy uncertainty ahead of president-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration on Friday. Yellen said the Fed was aiming to increase rates "a few times a year" for the next few years until 2019. That would bring the Federal Funds rate to 3% from 0.75% at present, with the market expecting at least three rate increases this year. The dollar firmed in response. The gold price slipped below $1,200 again to $1,199/oz. Rand Merchant Bank (RMB...
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