THURSDAY, 10.30AM
The bond market leapt ahead again on Wednesday after taking a two-week breather, and analysts are predicting the benchmark R150 government long bond will push the 14% level this week.
The R150 yield fell to a 17-month low on Wednesday, trading down to 14,04%, a sharp comeback from Friday’s 14,45% weak point.
Part of the revitalisation of bonds was attributed to remarks earlier this week by US Federal Reserve chairman Allan Greenspan, whose comments on US inflation prospects precipitated a run on Wall Street and boosted bond markets around the world. Local bonds were also helped by positive sentiment among institutions, who went on a buying spree to reverse last-week’s foreign’led sell-offs of SA bonds.
The bond rally was good for the rand, which took back a cent against the dollar, to close at R4,5655. Gold markets, however, remained jittery as bullion shed $4 to fix in the afternoon at $324,35/oz. The Johannesburg Stock Exchange’s gold index lost 10,8 points (1,09%) to close at 982,4.
Industrials, meanwhile, hit a new record high, with the JSE’s industrial index punching through the 9 000 mark for the first time and hitting a high of 9 032 and pulling the all share index up 17 points to a new record of 7 447.