JSE slightly up as gold stocks gain and market awaits Fed rate decision
The JSE opened marginally firmer on Wednesday as global markets took a breather ahead of an expected interest-rate hike by the US Federal Reserve in the evening, SA time. The market has priced in an increase of 25 basis points, with the main focus on the Fed’s forward view. Some analysts believe it could be more hawkish following higher-than-expected inflation numbers released on Tuesday. "The market is expecting the Fed to turn hawkish on the back of the inflation print and adjust their forward guidance by the data," said TreasuryOne dealer Andre Botha. However, analysts at Barclays Research said fiscal stimulus policies could lead to a modest overshoot of inflation above the Fed’s 2% target. "Yet, we do not believe current inflation trends were likely to cause the Fed to move faster or alter its stance of gradual policy normalisation," Barclays said. The rand traded weaker at R13.38 to the dollar from a close of R13.3241 on a flat euro at about $1.1748. The weaker rand lifted gold...
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