South African futures rose on Wednesday in the wake of Finance Minister Malusi Gigaba’s medium-term budget policy statement (MTBPS), which saw rand hedges soar on a substantially weaker currency. The Dow had lost 0.44% soon after the JSE’s close on profit-taking, after hitting yet another high on Tuesday. European markets were lower ahead of the European Central Bank’s (ECB) expected monetary-stimulus tapering announcement on Thursday, and as the euro gained on the dollar. Stronger GDP numbers in the UK raised the spectre of higher interest rates, sending the FTSE 100 1.18% lower by the JSE’s close. At the same time, the CAC 40 had shed 0.41% and the DAX 30 0.45%. The all share gained 0.38% to 58,123.1 points and the top 40 0.5%. Gold miners added 1.97%, platinums 1.89%, industrials 0.87%, and resources 0.51%. The property index fell 1.56%, banks 1.11%, and financials 0.95%. Dow Jones Newswires said ECB president Mario Draghi and his colleagues were widely expected to say they would...
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