INVESTMENT
BRIAN KANTOR: JSE catches up with emerging markets after rand rises
The South African economy has rejoined the world of emerging markets. The JSE, measured in dollars, has almost caught up with the surging MSCI emerging market index. Emerging market equities gained 47% between January 2017 and January 29 2018. The JSE, in dollars, was up 37% over the same period, while the S&P 500 index, making new highs every other day, was 26% stronger. These emerging market and JSE gains have come after an extended period of underperformance compared to the S&P 500, which has more than doubled since early 2011, while the MSCI index has only now come to exceed its dollar value of seven years ago. This JSE catch-up has come with the burst of rand strength that accompanied the defeat of President Jacob Zuma and his faction at the ANC electoral congress in December. The rand compared to January 2017 had weakened by about 11% compared to a basket of nine other equally weighted emerging market currencies by November 2017. It is now worth about 14.5% more in dollars sin...
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