The JSE ended Friday on a high note as the weaker rand supported rand hedges and miners, while banks and retailers were under pressure on concern over possible downgrades. The rand was weaker amid reports that an S&P Global Ratings’ delegation had visited SA and was preparing to downgrade the country’s sovereign credit rating on November 24, with a possibly similar step expected from Moody’s. The local currency lost nearly 2% to the dollar on the day, hitting a weekly low of R14.2581. The rand continued to factor in the expected credit-rating downgrades on the recent medium-term budget policy statement (MTPBS), with Moody’s publishing a credit-negative statement, Investec chief economist Annabel Bishop said. Bishop said Moody’s may wait until after the February 2018 budget before any downgrading. S&P has not released an official communication following the budget, but it was also likely to downgrade its local currency long-term sovereign rating for SA, potentially also on November 2...
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