JSE down on global concerns
The JSE tracked weaker global markets on Tuesday as investors mulled over a possible US fiscal stimulus package. The focus turned to the presidential debate later in the day when President Donald Trump and Democratic nominee Joe Biden were scheduled to face off in their first debate. We re just over a “’ month away from what is going to be an election for the ages and Covid-19 has turned the election on its head, Oanda senior ” market analyst Craig Erlam said. The JSE all share lost 0.39% to 54,506.88 points and the top 40 0.51%. The rand firmed for a second day, reaching an intraday best of R16.9128/$.
The JSE tracked weaker global markets on Tuesday as investors mulled over a possible US fiscal stimulus package, while focus turned to the presidential debate later.
President Donald Trump and Democratic nominee Joe Biden were to face off in the first debate on Tuesday night (early Wednesday SA time), an event analysts believe will affect market sentiment. The economy, the US supreme court, Covid-19, race and the integrity of the election were chosen as discussion topics.
We re just over a month away
“’ from what is going to be an election for the ages and Covid-19 has turned the election on its head,” Oanda senior market analyst Craig Erlam said. A tightening of the polls over the
“ next month will only add to the drama and uncertainty in the markets.” Monday s brief show of optimism is
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fading as investors take a reality check on the chances of fiscal stimulus and the emerging risks from a resurgent coronavirus. Hopes for a new US stimulus package are likely to rest on the presidential debate developments. House Democrats released a $2.2-trillion proposal on Monday, a move that has so far been met with silence from the Trump administration.
Meanwhile, there are signs that winter may be a difficult time for the world s biggest economy, with experts
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warning that the virus will spread more readily then.
The JSE all share lost 0.39% to 54,506.88 points and the top 40 0.51%.
Industrials lost 0.74% and resources 0.58%. The gold mining index gained 2.72%, platinum miners 1.50%, banks 0.80% and financials 0.67%.
The Dow Jones industrial average was last seen down 0.55% to 27,432.25 points. In Europe, the FTSE 100 lost 0.53%, Germany s DAX 30 0.48% and
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France s CAC 40 0.27%.
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The rand firmed for a second day, reaching an intra-day best of R16.9128/$. At 5.13pm, it had firmed 0.83% to R16.9078/$, 0.14% to R19.8529/€ and 0.79% to R21.7156/£. The euro had firmed 0.63% to $1.1737.
Data from Stats SA released on Tuesday showed that SA had 2.2-million job losses in the second quarter of 2020 during the worst of the hard Covid-19 lockdown. Despite the dramatic decline in the number of working people, SA s unemployment rate
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fell to 23.3% in the second quarter from 30.1% in the first, according to Stats SA s quarterly labour force survey.