JSE recovers to post small gains on extended stimulus
Prospects of slightly longer quantitative easing in the eurozone result in a jump by local banks and retailers, but Naspers offsets these gains
The JSE recovered earlier losses to close little changed on Thursday, with global markets and most local stocks boosted by the prospect of continued quantitative easing.Local data on the day once again pointed to a weak start for the economy in the second quarter, but the focus was on the European Central Bank (ECB), whose interest-rate decision and resulting commentary led the euro to plummet 1% against the dollar.The ECB said it would likely end its massive bond-buying programme in December, subject to data, but its forward guidance on interest rates was widely seen as dovish.Local interest-rate and rand-sensitive stocks extended earlier gains in the afternoon. Rand hedges were weaker, however, as the local currency pulled back from six-month lows against the euro and the dollar.Domestic news was less upbeat, with mining contracting 4.3% on an annualised basis in April, which was, however, less than the 5% drop forecast by economists. "The number is not entirely surprising given p...
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