JSE opens weaker as US Fed's message confuses markets
The Federal Reserve is firmly on course to hike rates more after an increase on Wednesday and removing reference to an ‘accommodative’ stance
The JSE opened weaker on Thursday as the market sought direction from a firmer rand, which in unusual trade gained on the dollar, despite the US Federal Reserve reaffirming a hawkish stance. The Fed hiked interest rates by an expected 25 basis points on Wednesday and pointed to a potential rise at its December meeting, with the likelihood of three increases in 2019. This should have benefited the dollar, but the euro lost ground only slightly to below the $1.17 level, before bouncing again to trade at $1.1709 at the JSE's opening. The rand was at R14.1492 to the dollar from R14.1348, the best level since August 28. It was at R14.35 on Tuesday. Oanda analysts said the US federal open market committee (FOMC) played verbal gymnastics with the market by removing the term "accommodative" from its statement. "Accommodative" refers to when rates are still lower than consumer inflation, while "neutral" means it is level with inflation. Hiking above neutral would be hawkish. Consumer inflat...
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