THURSDAY, 10.30AM
BIG trades in certain blue-chip stocks ensured the Johannesburg Stock Exchange’s industrial index held record levels for the second consecutive day on Tuesday.
Industrials leapt to anotther record high, climbing 64 points to 9 247. The gold index kept ahead of another fall in the bullion price, helped by the rand’s further weakening against the dollar to a 2,5 point increase to 956,5. Financials, meanwhile, continued their recent upward trend to leap 110 points to 10 454. Together, these all helped push the all share index up 54 points to 7 546,8, topping the previous day’s record high.
The bond market also performed strongly, with the benchmark government R150 long bond testing the 14% yield level again, closing at 14,06% from 14,16%.
The rand lost 2c against the dollar overall on Tuesday, but the continuing weakness against the rampant US currency was no cause for alarm as the rand gained 8c against the pound, confirming the belief that its weakness against the dollar is purely to do with the greenback’s strength and is unlikely to impede an expected cut in interest rates.
Reserve Bank governor Chris Stals was put under further pressure to drop rates on Tuesday with the release of the SA Chamber of Business’s revised gross domestic product projection for they year at 2%, down from an original 2,5%.