JSE higher following mixed response to Ramaphosa’s Cabinet reshuffle
The JSE closed marginally higher on Tuesday, with banks and retailers leading the gains, as the market digested the news of President Cyril Ramaphosa’s overnight Cabinet reshuffle. Property stocks gave back earlier gains, while rand hedges found little support, despite the local currency weakening in intraday trade. The gold index was lower on a softer metal price, at about $1,324 an ounce. The rand had weakened nearly 20c to the dollar, as the latter strengthened following comments from US Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell that the Fed foresaw "gradual" rate increases this year. The feeling at this stage was that Powell was unlikely to diverge from the central bank’s current path, which would imply three rate rises this year. "But with the economy strengthening and tax reform potentially providing additional stimulus, a fourth hike may be warranted this year," said Oanda analyst Craig Erlam. The Dow was 0.20% higher at the JSE’s close. European markets were mixed with the FTSE ha...
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