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SA’s leading stock indicator rose on Monday for the sixth day in a row, up 2.8% in the late afternoon in a great show of investor optimism following the announcement by the pharmaceutical company Pfizer that the first data from their coronavirus vaccine trials had suggested a high degree of effectiveness. .
Meanwhile, the rand strengthened to its highest level since early March, before the pandemic hit the coast of South Africa.
Optimistic outlook
Hours earlier, before the news of the promising vaccine trial, Bloomberg had already reported that the FTSE / JSE Africa All Shares Index had risen to its highest intraday level since late August, which analysts attributed to the low outlook. Joe Biden’s presidency in the United States.
FNB Wealth & Investments portfolio manager Wayne McCurrie said that while there was still some time left until a vaccine was launched, the news was “all the needs of the market.”
“The time it takes to implement is almost irrelevant,” he said.
Among those who saw notable gains on the day were Sasol, up more than 19%, with Brent crude oil gaining 8.6% to trade at $ 42.80 a barrel; Firstrand, more than 12%; as well as the telecommunications company MTN, which posted a gain of more than 9%.
Meanwhile, the rand has continued to strengthen. At 4:40 pm Johannesburg time, the local currency was trading more than 2% at R15.26 / $.
“News from Pfizer of a vaccine for the Covid-19 virus, which protects it 90% against the virus. The USD is under pressure for this news and the ZAR is currently trading at 15.2900 against the dollar.
“We see all emerging markets strengthening against the dollar,” said Andre Botha, senior currency trader at TreasuryONE.
Additional information from Bloomberg.
