Investors are waiting to see if the US Fed reinforces an more upbeat tone that has followed moves in the United States and Europe to reopen economies.
JOHANNESBURG - South Africa’s rand rose against the dollar on Wednesday, as the US currency weakened amid a cautious mood ahead of the US Federal Reserve’s verdict on the health of the economy.
At 1525 GMT the rand was at 16.5800 per dollar, 0.3% firmer than its previous close and trading at its strongest since March 18. The US dollar weakened broadly amid speculation that the Fed might take measures to curb a recent steepening of the US yield curve.“Any unexpected addition to the Fed’s stimulus programme and a more dovish than expected statement or a less-bearish-than-before outlook on economic recovery prospects would re-ignite the risk-on rally of late,” ETM Analytics said in a note.
The Johannesburg Stock Exchange continued its slide on Wednesday in line with global markets which remained cautious ahead of the US Federal Reserve meeting.The benchmark FTSE/JSE all share index fell 1.49% to end the day at 53,673 points, while the top 40 companies index slid 1.42% to close at 49,205 points.
The market fall was mainly led by its banks, with the banking index down 3.63% at close of trading hours.
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