5 things you need to know before trading starts today
·26 Apr 2016
Here’s what is happening in the markets:
- Former president Thabo Mbeki says that South Africa must do everything it can to stop its current decline – and if that means a call for president Jacob Zuma to resign, “let that be”. The former state head was careful not call for Zuma’s head, outright, but joins the many voices who would support such a move.
- Labour Minister Mildred Oliphant has threatened businesses in South Africa that they have six months to rectify their transformation issues, or “face the might of the law”. This follows a report from the Employment Equity Commission which found that nearly 70% of all top management positions in the country were still held by whites, where they represent only 10% of the total workforce.
- South Africa’s rand fell as much as 1% against the dollar on Monday, weighed down by muted appetite for riskier assets ahead of a Federal Reserve policy meeting. Economists have warned that the ‘rosy’ rand levels are thanks to international markets, and that local issues could easily see it move above R15 to the dollar again very soon. On Tuesday, the rand was trading at R14.46 to the dollar, R20.99 to the pound and R16.32 to the euro.
- In global news, Asian stocks retreated on Tuesday as investors braced for central bank policy meetings in the United States and Japan this week. Energy shares dragged Wall Street slightly lower on Monday, tracking a decline in oil prices, while earnings and guidance from companies including Perrigo and Xerox also weighed on US. stocks.
- Crude oil futures rose on Tuesday, pushed up by a weaker dollar and a flood of new cash into the market, but analysts warned that fundamentals remain weak as a producer race for customers heats up in the Middle East. Brent crude futures were trading at $44.91 per barrel, up 43 US cents, while US crude futures were also up around half a dollar at $43.10.
In other news: The controversial Gupta family, through its company Oakbay Investments, has sent a letter requesting a meeting with the Democratic Alliance, the party has revealed. Party leader Mmusi Maimane says the DA “firmly rejected” the meeting.
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