5 important things you need to know before the JSE opens today
·11 Feb 2016
Here’s what’s happening in the markets:
- President Jacob Zuma is set to deliver his toughest State of the Nationa Address this evening, with political, social and economic odds stacked against him. The president faces the hellish task of painting a pretty picture of South Africa amid endemic corruption in government, crawling economic growth, high levels of unemployment and a waning support base.
- Employment figures from Stats SA have been delayed due to “anomalies”, with the group denying it has anything to do with President Zuma’s SONA event. The data with the latest employment figures from Q4 2015 were due on Tuesday, but the stats group needs more time to “identify anomalies”. Unemployment at the end of Q3 stood at 25.5% by the broad definition.
- South Africa’s rand gained against the dollar on Wednesday as fears about the global economic outlook eased, while stocks ended a touch higher. The rand is trading at R15.92 to the dollar, R23.13 to the pound and R17.97 to the euro.
- In global markets, stocks again faced a tough time as investors continued seeking safety in the Japanese Yen. Comments from US Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen that rates would be kept open for further hikes, caused the US markets to lose previous gains. Yellen also pointed to worries over futher economic weakness ahead. Global stocks have dropped around 10% since the start of 2016.
- Oil prices took another slide on Thursday, due to record US crude inventories and worries over global economic slowdown weighed. Benchmark crude was down 17 US cents to $30.67, while US crude slipped to $27.01. Oil prices have fallen beneath $30, from $50 the same time last year. as a result, local fuel prices are currently showing a significant over-recovery of around 50 cents for both 93 and 95 LRP.
In other news: The Competition Tribunal has rejected opposition to Altech Autopage’s plan to sell of its mobile subscribers. Saicom Voice Services opposed the R1.5 billion sale, saying that, due to the structure of Altech’s contracts, clients moving to MTN and Vodacom would see their costs jump by as much as 400%.
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