The JSE opened firmer on Thursday, amid a slew of company results and as the market awaited the outcome of the European Central Bank’s meeting later in the day. "The meeting may not go down as the most exciting on record, but it could contain some very subtle hints that the end of quantitative easing (QE) is close," said Oanda analyst Craig Erlam. In December 2016 the European Central Bank (ECB) announced a plan to reduce its QE programme in a measured manner and has since reduced the extent of monthly bond purchases. Standard Bank’s results, the strongest among the big four in the 2018 reporting season, buoyed the banking sector, while Shoprite led the food retailers higher. Property counter Resilient is finally on the recovery path, gaining more than 4% at the opening after announcing its intention to restructure its controversial broad-based black economic empowerment entity and eliminate its cross-holdings with Fortress. On Wall Street on Wednesday, the Dow Jones industrial aver...
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