JSE opens higher in anticipation of Reserve Bank keeping rates unchanged
Banks gain on the stronger rand as Naspers firms despite Moody’s warning on MultiChoice unbundling
The JSE was higher at the opening on Thursday as banks jumped on the likelihood of the Reserve Bank keeping interest rates unchanged later in the day.Analysts said better-than-expected consumer inflation data on Wednesday might result in the Bank’s monetary policy committee (MPC) not over-reacting to the possibility of higher inflation later in the year and in 2019 due to the weaker rand and higher oil prices.The weak economy also mitigates against a rate increase with just three of 19 economists in a Bloomberg survey predicting a rate hike. The rand has dropped more than 7% since the last MPC meeting.The rand broke through the important resistance level of R14.60 in overnight trade on Thursday, and was at R14.4580 at the JSE’s opening. TreasuryOne analyst Andre Botha said the positive momentum of keeping rates on hold could be carried forward with the rand holding up at levels around R14.50."It might be too early to call for a rebound, but one gets the sense that the market is sens...
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