Morning report (29.4)

Local equities closed lower yesterday after it was in positive territory for most of the day, says Nico Kelder, economist at the Efficient Group.

Commodity shares recorded the largest losses as gold and platinum lost around 4% yesterday. Not even the currency weakening by 2.5% against the majors could stem the bloodletting in these shares.

Yields on the bond market also traded higher yesterday after the inflation data were released. The weaker currency could increase fears of higher inflation pushing yields higher.

European and US markets also had a negative day yesterday with losses ranging between 1- and 2%. The Nikkei is closed today while the Hang Seng is following the international trend lower this morning.

We expect the weakness to continue today on local markets.