The JSE was little changed on Monday morning, with losses by rand hedges and miners offsetting gains by retailers, as the market reacted to a slightly better outlook for the rand. The local currency had firmed at the weekend on the news that the clock was officially running out for President Jacob Zuma, with the ANC national executive committee (NEC) now having agreed that he should eventually step down. Analysts said further developments out of the ANC were likely to continue to move the rand this week, likely spurring further optimism towards the local unit. It was, however, uncertain if the decision by the ruling party would be sufficient to avoid further downgrades of SA’s sovereign credit rating. Political uncertainty is seen as the major reason the Reserve Bank opted to keep rates on hold last week, but a third of analysts had expected a 25 basis point cut. A more dovish tone from the Bank had seen rate-sensitive stocks such as retailers and banks gain, however. At 9.30am the ...
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