US President Donald Trump’s promise of "phenomenal" tax cuts for business sent Asian markets surging on Friday morning. Both of Tokyo’s main indices, Nikkei 225 and Topix, were up more than 2% ahead of the JSE’s opening. Sydney’s S&P/ASX 200 was 1% higher, partly thanks to an upbeat economic assessment from the Reserve Bank of Australia. Trump’s comment made the dollar stronger against most currencies, including the rand, which was about 0.3% weaker at R13.42/$ at 6:16am. After a quiet January, the results season for JSE-listed companies picks up on Friday with Italtile and hotel-focused property group Hospitality scheduled to release results. Italtile said in a trading statement on February 1 it expected to report on Friday that headline earnings per share (HEPS) for the six months to end-December increased by between 6% and 9% from the matching period. The building material retailer said it expected its overall interim turnover to be 14% higher than the year-earlier period’s R3.1b...
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Subscribe now to unlock this article.
Support BusinessLIVE’s award-winning journalism for R129 per month (digital access only).
There’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in SA. Our subscription packages now offer an ad-free experience for readers.
Cancel anytime.
Questions? Email helpdesk@businesslive.co.za or call 0860 52 52 00. Got a subscription voucher? Redeem it now.