More clues as whether or not SA escaped a third consecutive quarter of declining GDP in the third quarter of 2018 will be revealed by Stats SA’s September retail sales report scheduled for release at 1pm. Further information on the health of SA’s retail sector will also be provided by the 2018 financial year results from grocery chain Spar.

Naspers’s main asset, Tencent, is scheduled to release its September quarter results on Wednesday morning after the Hong Kong stock exchange closes. Tencent’s share was up 0.44% at HK$275.60 at 6.20am. Tencent’s share price tends to swing wildly following its results releases. Along with the oil price crashing 7% on Tuesday and imminent cabinet reshuffles in both the US and SA, Wednesday is bound to be a volatile day on the JSE and elsewhere. The economists’ consensus is that SA’s annual retail sales growth will have slowed from August’s 2.5% to about 2.2%. A good average over the three months to end-September from retail is needed to compe...

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