JSE on tenterhooks for Tuesday’s episode of ‘state capture’ soapy
The JSE may follow a global stock rebound. But if rumours that President Jacob Zuma is about to appoint disgraced former Eskom CEO Brian Molefe as finance minister are true, we may see a replay of December 2015’s “Nenegate” when the JSE’s banking index plunged 13.5%
The rand was relatively stable at about R12.75/$ on Tuesday morning as traders anxiously awaited the next episode of SA’s "state capture" soapy. The rand weakened to R12.84/$ during the night, taking its loss from Monday morning’s R12.32/$ to 4% in the wake of President Jacob Zuma ordering Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan and his deputy Mcebisi Jonas to return from London immediately. Zuma said he ordered them to cancel their roadshow to foreign investors because it was unauthorised — an apparent lie since the Treasury had written permission from the Presidency for the trip and Science and Technology Minister Naledi Pandor was officially made acting finance minister while Gordhan was out of the country. In a bizarre plot twist, Zuma announced he would join his friends, the notorious Gupta brothers, in a court case against Gordhan scheduled to be heard on Tuesday. Bank shares tend to track the rand-dollar exchange rate, resulting in FirstRand falling 3.55% to R50.59, Barclays Africa G...
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