The JSE was marginally weaker on Wednesday morning with global peers mixed, as focus turned to finance minister Enoch Godongwana’s budget statement in the afternoon.
Godongwana is facing the daunting task of presenting a budget that keeps government expenditure in check in the face of a sluggish economy, while finding the additional revenue needed to curtail rising debt.
Analysts expect the finance minister to touch on sluggish economic growth due to various internal challenges, including inadequate energy supply and deficient infrastructure in SA’s ports and rail network.
The 2024 budget comes in a crucial election year. President Cyril Ramaphosa announced on Tuesday that the elections would take place on May 29.
“Local markets are facing some volatility as we approach today’s local budget speech. The country is awaiting clarity on initiatives such as National Health Insurance, as well as pressing issues such as Eskom, Transnet and other fiscal woes,” Citadel Global director Bianca Botes said.
“The local budget, together with the minutes from the US Federal Reserve’s latest meeting [to be released later on Wednesday], will make for an interesting day for the markets and will most likely provide some fresh direction.”
At 10.35am, the JSE all share had lost 0.23% to 72,778.72 points and the top 40 was down 0.3%. Banks had added 0.5%, SA listed property 0.45%, financials 0.37% and retailers 0.3%. Industrial metals had lost 1.74%, resources 1.55% and precious metals 1.22%.
At the same time in Europe, France’s CAC 40 and Germany’s DAX were little changed.
Earlier in Asia, the Shanghai Composite gained 0.97% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng 1.57%, while Japan’s Nikkei lost 0.26%.
At 10.21am, the rand had strengthened 0.12% to R18.8893/$, while it was little changed at R20.4182/€ and R23.8482/£. The euro was unchanged at $1.0809.
Gold gained 0.11% to $2,026.25/oz, while platinum weakened 0.28% to $902.94/oz. Brent crude was 0.23% weaker at $81.73 a barrel.
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