Market Overview
The FTSE/JSE All Share closed last week at 78 985.35, increasing by 1.77%. The health care and basic material sectors were the best performing, increasing by 5.23% and 3.60% respectively. The industrial sector was the only detractor, decreasing by 0.10% during the week.
Looking at the MSCI indices, developed markets decreased by 1.95% during the previous week while emerging markets decreased by 1.68% over the same period.
South Africa placed on the grey list along with 23 other jurisdictions under enhanced monitoring
South Africa failed to demonstrate sufficient progress in meeting all the recommendations made by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) in October 2022. The FATF is an independent inter-governmental body that develops and promotes anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorist financing (CTF) standards to create common legislation and regulation that helps countries prevent illegal activities such as organised crime, corruption and terrorism. Read the full article compiled by alexforbes investments here>
SA’s unemployment rate edges down to 32.7%
The latest Stats SA Labour Force Survey shows SA’s official unemployment rate fell to 32.7% in Q4 2022 from 32.9% in Q3 2022, but youth unemployment remains high. Read the full article from Stanlib here>
South African financial markets outperform in spite of higher interest rate expectations
On the JSE the ALSI ended last week 1.7% higher, the Rand gained more than 51 cents on Friday alone and closed after hours on R17.74 cents against the US/$ (gaining 67 cents last week) and the gold price surged by $53 per ounce over the last five days, to close Friday in New York on ($1856). Read the full article by Chris Harmse here>
Rand weakens on Monday
The rand weakened in early trade on Monday ahead of a cabinet reshuffle expected this afternoon, where President Cyril Ramaphosa is likely to name a new deputy. At 09:35, the rand traded at R18.18 against the dollar. Read the article by Moneyweb here>
National Treasury’s stealthy tightening of exchange controls
The steadily depreciating rand has significantly shrunk the amounts South Africans can take offshore. Surprisingly, the National Treasury did not increase South Africa’s foreign allowances in its 2023 Budget. Read the full article here>