Morning report (28.5)

It seems local equities can do no wrong, jumping 1.8% with almost all the indices making strong gains, says Nico Kelder, economist at the Efficient Group.

The strong gains were despite the currency continuing to gain against the dollar (0.6%) but lose against the euro (0.2%) and sterling (0.7%). The dollar had a weak day, falling 1.3% against the euro.

Bond markets traded flat yesterday after the PPI data made future interest rate movements even more unclear. Gold (1.9%) and platinum (0.9%) jumped higher on the back of a weaker dollar. The stronger currency combined with oil dropping 2% could give some relief to motorists.

European markets traded higher with Germany’s DAX (1.2%) making the strongest gains. The Dow Jones led the way higher in the US gaining almost 1%.

The Far East has been trading higher for most of the week with gains in the region of 1% each day – today is no exception. We expect that equities should trade lower today as investors realise their profits after a very positive week.