Weekly Mail Reporter
MARKETS which reeled on Wednesday in reaction to Derek Keys’ resignation recovered slightly as the news was digested.
The finrand recovered from a day’s low of R4,97 to the dollar to close at R4,8400, compared to the previous day’s close of R4,9250.
The commercial rand on Wednesday slipped to as low as $1:R3,6835, before recovering to close at R3,6678.
Foreign investors were net sellers on Wednesday, offloading R40-million worth of shares on the JSE. Consequently, the Overall and Industrial Indices fell 47 points, closing at 5404 and 6220 respectively.
Dealers said overseas players were “taking a back seat”, and having left in panic saw no reason to re-enter the market. This was more evident in the capital market, which was “in a tight bear grip”, dealers said.
The government R150 stock broke through the 15 percent resistance level and closed at 15,02 percent from the previous day’s 14,9 percent.
Other persistent rumours to affect bonds on Wednesday revolved around Reserve Bank Governor Chris Stals. Speculators were saying that he was also set to step down, following the resignation of Keys.
By Thursday these rumours had not abated. Dealers said markets would continue to react negatively until it was clear why Keys had resigned.