The JSE dodged a global stock slump on Tuesday by closing for Human Rights Day, but will probably slide on Wednesday to catch up. Markets trading ahead of the JSE’s opening took their cue from the Nasdaq index’s 1.83% and the S&P 500 index’s 1.24% drops on Tuesday. Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 was down 2% and Sydney’s S&P/ASX 200 was down 1.5% at 6:20am. The rand weakened back to about R12.70/$ on Wednesday morning after reaching R12.53/$ on Tuesday. Statistics SA is scheduled to release February’s consumer price index (CPI) at 10am on Wednesday. CPI is the key measure of inflation used by the South African Reserve Bank’s monetary policy committee, which is due to announce its next interest rate vote on March 30. Thanks to the drought abating outside of the Western Cape, inflation is expected to slow from January’s 6.6% to about 6.4%. The central bank is expected to hold its repo rate steady at 7%, anticipating inflation will gradually fall back under its 6% ceiling. The Reserve Bank is sched...
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