JSE flat, as weaker Naspers offsets gold miners
Gold miners shine after a dovish US Federal Reserve policy statement, but the market heavyweight is under pressure
The JSE was little changed on Friday morning, with market heavyweight Naspers offsetting gains by most indices. Naspers was tracking losses of Chinese media giant Tencent, which is under pressure after releasing disappointing fourth-quarter results on Thursday. At 9.30am the all share was up 0.1% to 56,202.6 points and the top 40 had added 0.07%. Gold miners added 3.84%, banks 1.27% and general retailers 1.1%. Industrials were down 0.37%. Platinum had added 0.23% to $862.15/oz and gold 0.21% to $1,312.07. Brent crude was 0.35% higher at $67.88 a barrel. Gold miners are benefiting from a dovish US Federal Reserve monetary policy statement on Wednesday. The Fed has indicated it has no plans to raise interest rates in 2019, also citing decelerating economic growth in the world’s largest economy. Gold is seen as a hedge against loose monetary policy and inflation. There was little news to give the local market direction on Friday, with domestic focus on the forthcoming review by Moody’s...
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