Morning report (25.6.04)

At long last! For a change local equities closed higher yesterday, gaining 1.4% with gains on all indices.

Nico Kelder, economist at the Efficient Group says the early rise was possibly linked a weaker currency during the initial trading hours.

After the release of the better than expected PPI data the currency strengthened while the equity market remained firm. The currency closed slightly stronger against the dollar while it lost ground to the euro.

The dollar weakened 0.5% against the euro. Bonds reacted positively to the PPI data as inflation expectations declined. Gold and platinum firmed on the back of a weaker dollar yet oil moved lower by almost 1%.

European markets had a positive day - another reason for the good performance locally. US markets closed higher but by not as much as their European counterparts. The Far East is waiting for some news to trade on today, both recording almost no change so far this morning.

We expect that today will be a quiet day with currency movements being the dominant trading factor.