The Markets Daily

Gaudi’s Sagrada Familia is an architectural sight to behold. Complex, detailed and adored by surrealists and abstract expressionists, his equilibrated artistry is not easily replicated...

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Today feels a bit like a Monday following yesterday’s Freedom Day observation. The short break was definitely welcome, especially as we seem to return to a relatively busy day. US President Joe Biden will deliver his first address to a join Congress session today, where he is expected to furnish more details on the capital gains tax proposal and unveil a US$200bn program to fund free Pre-School education

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For some, today will be best thought of long-weekend interrupted, as we return to work for one day, while many South African’s will have taken the opportunity to create a long weekend with tomorrow the last of a number of public holiday’s which cluster around April.

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I’ll be honest, 5 day-weeks are a stretch in South Africa around this time of year. Maintaining break-neck speeds between the torrent of public holidays is as, if not more difficult, than setting a consistent pace. I say this in jest, thankful that another long weekend is in our midst and fully aware that my minor rant is inconsequential in the greater scheme of things.

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The allure of sleight of hand is the deftness and skill with which the deception occurs. I’m not suggesting that there is trickery at hand in global markets, simply that the speed at which themes are evolving, particularly the rip-roaring recovery in production data cushioned by persistent stimulus, could distract investors from the uneven roll-out of vaccines in EMs – a primary deterrent to economic recovery in the developing world.

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Global equity stocks continued to trade weaker yesterday, closing in the red for the second consecutive session. Wall Street indices declined by 0.8% on average, while EU and UK stocks experienced the largest losses, with the UK FTSE 100 and Euro stoxx sheding 2.0%.

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Today seem set to be a rather calm day. Data releases are thin and the news headlines continue to highlight many of the same issues. So it should not be too exciting, unless of course something sparks up a flare up of previous risks, or something new emerges.

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I am a proud UCT Alum, it was this institution where I delved into the exciting world of economics, made life long friends and began my “adult life”. So like so many across the country and possibly even across the globe (especially fellow Alumni’s) I have been watching news on the fire blazing on Table Mountain very closely – like many I have been quite saddened by the images of buildings I know so well being gutted by fire.

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It’s seldom that SA is considered best in class. But the rand’s performance against the greenback yesterday has propelled the local unit into top spot. As the best-performing currency globally, the local unit is testing December 2019 levels.

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It took me a while to get going this morning. Words seemed to fail me, and my thoughts were muddled. It isn’t that there is a lack of information. On the contrary, news portals are brimming with interesting headlines.

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