MARKETS WRAP

RAND STRONGER, JSE WEAKER

THE RAND was firmer yesterday, while stocks were lower.

At 5pm, the rand bid at R14.62 to the dollar, 9 cents stronger than at the same time on Wednesday.

On the JSE, the benchmark all share index dropped 0.8 percent to 66 575.45 points, while the blue-chip Top40 index retreated 0.86 percent to 61 206.58 points.

Meanwhile, a gauge of global equity markets slipped for a third consecutive session yesterday as hints of rising inflation led by higher oil prices and the strongest copper prices in nearly a decade kept traders in check after stocks hit a record high earlier this week.

Oil prices erased early gains, with Brent retreating from a 13-month high above $65 (about R955) a barrel as buying spurred by concerns that a rare cold snap in Texas could disrupt US crude output for days or even weeks petered out.

The MSCI’s global stock index was down 0.79 percent at 677.28 points in late afternoon trade. The index touched a record intra-day high of 687.26 points on Tuesday, before erasing gains to snap an 11-day winning streak.

Investors’ appetite for riskier assets dulled after data showed the number of Americans filing first-time applications for unemployment benefits unexpectedly rose last week, even though the labour market was steadily recovering as additional fiscal stimulus and falling Covid-19 cases allowed more service businesses to reopen.

“The one part of the economy that has remained disappointing is clearly the employment picture,” said Ryan Detrick, chief market strategist at LPL Financial in Charlotte, North Carolina.

On Wall Street, main indices fell as investors resumed a shift out of big technology-related firms.

US stock indicess hit record highs at the beginning of the week but gradually retreated following a rise in Treasury bond yields, which led to fears of higher inflation.