What the biggest election year in history means for markets

South African markets closed in the red yesterday, as investors assessed hawkish comments from the US Federal Reserve officials.

At 05:30, the US dollar is trading 0.1% lower against the South African rand at R18.0594, while the euro is trading 0.1% lower at R19.6062. At 05:30, the British pound has declined 0.1% against the South African rand to trade at R22.9633.US markets ended higher yesterday, as investors assessed the latest comments from US Fed officials for further cues on interest rates.Meanwhile, the company posted a drop in its 1Q24 sales. Technology company, International Business Machines advanced 2.

On the other hand, pharmaceutical company, AstraZeneca advanced 2.2%, after the company announced ambitious plans to grow its revenue by 75.0% to $80.00bn by 2030.Asian markets are trading mostly higher this morning. The Nikkei 225 index is trading 0.6% lower at 38,719.35. The Hang Seng index has advanced 0.3% to trade at 19,269.30, while the Kospi index is trading 0.2% higher at 2,729.16.Yesterday, Brent prices fell 1.0% to settle at $82.88/bl, as possibilities of higher for longer interest rates weighed on fuel demand. Meanwhile, the American Petroleum Institute reported that the US crude oil inventories declined by 3.10mn bls in the week ended 17 May 2024.

What does this mean for investors? In short, keep a cool head and avoid letting the headlines influence your investment decisions. Markets are fundamentally forward-looking, in part driven by the analysis of key events and their potential impact. Growth of a dollar invested in the S&P 500, January 1926 to December 2023 Source: Ben Wacek, LinkedIn

History of SA bear and bull markets since 1965 Source: Bloomberg, Deutsche Bank and Ninety One as at 31 December 2023.South Africans tend to attribute rand weakness to what’s happening in South Africa, rather than exogenous factors. So, in an election year with pronounced political insecurity, local investors may interpret rand weakness as evidence that the country is heading for collapse because of an uncertain political environment.

Source: News Formal (newsformal.com)

South Africa Latest News, South Africa Headlines

Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.

Ferrari vs Tesla: Who wins the investment race?Tesla’s production hit 1.85m vehicles in 2023 against Ferrari’s 13 660. Both produce cars, and both are pricey – but for very different reasons.
Source: Moneyweb - 🏆 5. / 77 Read more »

Living annuities: How to tackle the offshore investment conundrumOffshore exposure in these funds should be approached differently than in voluntary investments.
Source: Moneyweb - 🏆 5. / 77 Read more »

GenAI takes off in South Africa with Stellenbosch firm netting R60m investmentFounded in 2017, Spatialedge already brings in an annual revenue of more than R300m.
Source: dailymaverick - 🏆 3. / 84 Read more »

Shareholders scarper as Meta ups AI investmentMeta shares plunged 14% in pre-market trading on Thursday after news of its planned spending on AI unnerved investors.
Source: TechCentral - 🏆 8. / 71 Read more »

Africa: Pioneering Charter to Drive Up Investment in Africa's Health WorkforcePress Release - A pioneering health investment charter, a first for the African region, is set to be launched at the African Health Workforce Investment Forum which will take place in Windhoek, Namibia from 6 - 8 May 2024. Key stakeholders will gather to consolidate efforts to drive up investment to counter critical health worker shortages.
Source: allafrica - 🏆 1. / 99 Read more »

Investment update | Should you catch a ride on Ferrari?Investment update | Should you catch a ride on Ferrari?
Source: Fin24 - 🏆 21. / 63 Read more »