A conservative move
The JSE managed a second consecutive gain (0.59%) yesterday as retailers and mid cap stocks kept gains to a minimum.
In a day dominated by the MTBPS, Mittal Steel gained 2.78%, while gold miners were more focused on the gold price which increased to $472.55 - AngloGold Ashanti gained 3.80%, Gold Fields 1.78% and Harmony shining 2.16% brighter.
The currency traded mixed and gained 0.41% against the dollar but lost 0.74% and 0.56% against the euro and pound respectively while the dollar slipped 1.10% against the euro and 0.35% against the yen. The weaker dollar helped gold to climb 1.63%, platinum 1.08% while oil jumped 1.82%.
The unexpected drop in consumer confidence in the US dampened their equity mood and the higher oil price confirmed a gloomy day and both the Dow Jones and Nasdaq closed in the red. European stocks were spooked by concerns surrounding the profit outlook as the first earnings reports for the third quarter were released.
Breaking the trend of recent weeks the Far East is trading in the opposite direction to that of the US and European markets.
The rebound on the Nikkei (0.69%) was helped on by resource and construction stocks climbing higher while the small gain recorded by the Hang Seng is a result of bargain hunting on blue chip stocks although the news of bird flu cases in China placed a damper on the market in general.
We keep our stance regarding predictions for the day unchanged, going for a sure bet – September’s consumer inflation data will be released today.
