Net Bulls<\/strong><\/td>| March<\/strong><\/td> | April<\/strong><\/td> | May<\/strong><\/td><\/tr> | South African equities<\/td> | 60%<\/td> | 29%<\/td> | 53%<\/td><\/tr> | South African bonds<\/td> | 13%<\/td> | 35%<\/td> | 5%<\/td><\/tr> | Cash<\/td> | -47%<\/td> | -53%<\/td> | -47%<\/td><\/tr> | Commodity prices<\/td> | -20%<\/td> | -6%<\/td> | -5%<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n | A separate Bloomberg survey also showed that investors are widely convinced that stocks, bonds, and the rand will keep soaring after the elections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Of the 26 emerging-market investors, most were overweight or neutral to South Africa, with many preferring to invest in the country over Egypt and Nigeria. <\/p>\n\n\n\n It highlights the shift in investor sentiment over South Africa with the country, with many previously hesitant to invest due to load shedding and mismanagement. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Although the ANC is expected to lose its majority in parliament, it is believed that it will still get enough votes to avoid enlisting less market-friendly rivals as coalition partners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe election uncertainty has been weighing on South Africa, so an outcome that rules out a populist government would be received well by the market,\u201d said Kaan Nazli, a portfolio manager at Neuberger Berman Asset Management.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Nazli said that a market-friendly outcome would also allow the government to focus on structural reforms to boost economic growth.<\/p>\n\n\n \n ![\"\"](\"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/image-82.png\") <\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nStill some concerns <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Despite the overall improvement in sentiment, the BofA survey did highlight some concerns. <\/p>\n\n\n\n A smaller net of 53% believes that the economy will get a ‘little stronger’. With the economy only growing by 0.6% in 2023, a little stronger is nothing to write home about and is unlikely to keep pace with population growth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A similar net of 63% expects inflation to be only ‘slightly lower.’ The latest April inflation figure came out at 5.2% – still above the South African Reserve Bank’s midpoint target of 4.5%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The overall consensus on the first rate cut has been pushed out from Q3 to Q4 2024, meaning that borrowing costs will remain restrictive for longer. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The rand is also expected to hit R18.01 in the next 12 months – dropping from the 17.88 seen in March. <\/p>\n\n\n\n |