The JSE opened flat on Monday on weaker retailer and property stocks and despite gold shares jumping on a firmer gold price. Global markets were subdued after President Donald Trump’s inauguration speech, in which he said the interests of the US would come first in his administration. This was followed up by an announcement that the North American Free Trade Agreement (Nafta) between the US, Canada and Mexico would be renegotiated. Trump has indicated that he plans to meet the Mexican president soon to discuss Nafta. The dollar weakened and US treasury yields firmed in response. The Dow Jones industrial average closed 0.48% up on Friday but failed to hit the 20,000 level. It was the first positive close in five sessions. "Recent weakness in the dollar over the weekend suggested that the market remained wary of the fact that the inaugural speech and post-inauguration comments had more emphasis on protectionist rhetoric rather than growth-orientated reform in the short term," Nedbank ...
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