Increasing optimism regarding SA’s economic outlook helped propel the JSE to a fresh peak on Thursday, with a stronger rand providing the market with direction.The local bourse saw broad-based gains, while market heavyweight Naspers was, in the main, responsible for losses in the only index that fell, industrials.The rand broke through R12 to the dollar for the first time since April 2015, with banks and retailers continuing their recent rally. Despite the firmer currency, gold miners led the gains, boosted by a firmer metal price and general dollar weakness.The greenback was under further pressure on Wednesday, following US treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin saying members of the Trump administration were "fans of bilateral trading agreements", reported Dow Jones Newswires.A weaker dollar tends to support miners as it makes commodities more affordable for those purchasing in other currencies.Naspers fell 1.33% to R3,700, tracking losses in Tencent, of which it holds a sizable share....
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