Morning All, happy hump day!
Global stock markets kept their cool on Tuesday amid the pandemic, riots and rising U.S-China tensions. The JSE firmed up 3.08% to 52,496.86 points and the Top-40 2.91% as the gradual lifting of economic restrictions supports stock prices in the face of protests and geopolitical conflicts. The rand recorded its second day of gains, firming alongside its emerging-market peers. This morning around 3 a.m. it reached an intraday day of R17.06/$, according to Bloomberg. Gold spot flat this morning -0.09% to $1,726.22/oz and palladium firmer 0.62% to 1987.17$, while Brent crude added 1.24% to $40.06 a barrel. Yield on 10 year govt rand bonds fell 4.4 bps to 8.751%. The local market will probably make a good start at the opening this morning given the firmer Asian markets and the synthetic I.G futures pointing upwards 405 points.
- Debt-laden state utility Eskom to brief lawmakers on its recovery plan and progress separating into three independent entities.
- South African Court Declares Lockdown Rules Unconstitutional
- South African Watchdog, Competition Commision, Revives 5-Year-Old Rand-Rigging Case
- Floyd’s Death in U.S. Spurs Protests, Outrage Across Africa
ECONOMIC DATA : 9:15am: May Standard Bank South Africa PMI, est. 34.8, prior 35.1
European markets closed firmer on Tuesday maintaining their gains through the afternoon amid optimism over lockdown easing.
The FTSE 100 ended the session up 0.87%, alongside a gain of 3.75% for the Dax in Frankfurt, while CAC-40 in Paris advanced 2.02%.
The European Central Bank is expected to ramp up stimulative bond purchases when it meets on Thursday.
US markets closed higher on Tuesday despite a wave of civil unrest spreading across the country. On Tuesday, the Dow advanced 1.05%, to end at 25,742.65, alongside the S&P 500 index gaining 0.82% , while the Nasdaq saw the session out 0.6%, representing its best closing level since Feb. 20. On Wednesday morning the Dow futures are pointing to further gains as investors await private-sector jobs report. Report on private-sector employment likely to show that 9 million jobs were lost in May, according to Econoday, compared with ADP(Automatic Data Processing Inc.)’s estimate in April for a loss of 20.236 million. The data, which will be released at 14H15 local time. Futures for the Dow were up 120 points, or 0.46%, those for the S&P 500 were trading 25.52 points, or 0.82% higher.
Asian shares jumped to a near three-month high on Wednesday as hopes of more stimulus and further easing in social restrictions around the world outweighed worries from the coronavirus to growing U.S. civil unrest.
MSCI broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan gained 1.3%, extending its rally into a fifth straight day to reach a level last seen on March 9. Japan’s Nikkei rose 1.2% to its highest level since late February, while mainland China’s CSI300 rose 0.56% to break above its May peak to a 12-week high. Aussie’s ASX 200 advancing 1.71% on Wednesday morning, alongside 1.16 gains for the Hang Seng.
Oil prices climbed more than 1% to a near three-month high amid optimism that major producers will extend production cuts as the world recovers from the coronavirus pandemic. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) gained 1.9% to $37.50 while Brent crude rose 1.2% to $40.04 a barrel.