Displaced Palestinians who left with their belongings from Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip following an evacuation order by the Israeli army, arrive to Khan Yunis on May 6, 2024, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas movement. Photo: AFP
The rand was trading stronger against the dollar on Tuesday, amid geopolitical volatility.
By 10.02am it was trading at R18.47, 1.09% stronger.
The rand made strides against the greenback yesterday, before settling back towards the R18.50 against the dollar mark, said Bianca Botes, a director at Citadel Global.
“Yesterday’s trade followed the release of local Purchasing Managers Index readings, which marginally beat expectations. Local election headlines are now also a key focal point for traders and investors,” she said.
Internationally, market sentiment was dented after a ceasefire agreement between Gaza and Israel fell flat, continuing the geopolitical uncertainty in the region.
On the bourse, South African stocks rose to a nine-month high, according to Trading Economics.
The JSE index traded around the 77 000 point level , the highest since August last year, marking the third-consecutive session of advances. Market sentiment continued to be supported by hopes of interest cuts by the Federal Reserve and an upbeat earnings season.
Among single stocks, Advtech and Northam Platinum led the gains, up 3.6% and 3.4%, respectively. On the opposite side, Primary Health Properties underperformed, with a 10% slump. Among other top losers, Gold Fields and Harmony Gold shed 4.9% and 3.3%, respectively.
Neil Wilson, a chief market analyst at Finalto, said the FTSE 100 jumped above 8 300 points for a fresh record high in buoyant trade early as London reopened following the holiday.
“There is a something of a catch-up trade taking place with stocks in Frankfurt enjoying a strong session on Monday and more modestly higher this morning. There was a positive session on Wall Street again as the Dow Jones advanced for a fourth straight day in the wake of the less-hawkish-than-feared Fed and the S&P 500 rose 1%. It’s not all been rosy, but earnings have helped satisfy risk appetite,” he said.
Gold
Gold prices climbed past $2 320 (R4287) per ounce, lifted by fresh hopes that the Fed would commence rate cuts this year, following weaker-than-expected US jobs growth. Moreover, comments from Fed officials overnight hinting at potential rate reductions later this year are bolstering gold prices, particularly after Fed Chair Powell’s relatively dovish remarks last week, according to Trading Economics.
Oil
Brent crude futures erased gains and hovered flat at the $83.5 per barrel mark, not far from the near-two-month low of $82.9 touched on May 3 as the perception of ample supply outweighed lingering geopolitical concerns, according to Trading Economics.
The relatively loose supply in global markets also drove Saudi Arabia to raise the official selling price of its Arab Light crude oil grade by 90 cents per barrel for June, overshooting market estimates by 30 cents, and raising expectations that Opec’s largest member would press for the extension of output cuts into the second quarter of the year.
BUSINESS REPORT