SA’s net equity outflows surpass R22 billion in 2017

13 February 2017 - 16:14 By Andries Mahlangu
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SA’s net equity outflows are showing little sign of abating‚ with foreigners selling an additional R3bn last week‚ bringing the tally to R22bn since the beginning of the year.

The JSE might look glitzy but is littered with pitfalls for would-be investors who don’t know what they’re doing.
The JSE might look glitzy but is littered with pitfalls for would-be investors who don’t know what they’re doing.
Image: Katherine Muick-Mere

But net bond inflows for the year now stand at R3.5bn‚ marking a turnaround from a couple of weeks ago when foreigners were net sellers of local bonds.

Sasfin Securities’ head of fixed-income dealing Ashley Dickinson attributed the buying momentum in the bond market to last week’s state of the nation address (Sona)‚ which contained no surprises.

“The fact that there were no unfavourable moves or initiatives from this event has now left the market in the hands of positive interest-rate fundamentals‚ coupled with investor interest driving the rand firmer.”

There were murmurs in the lead-up to the speech that President Jacob Zuma could announce a Cabinet reshuffle that would include the removal of Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan.

The yield on the benchmark R186 bond was at 8.715% at lunchtime on Monday‚ recovering from close to 9% just before the speech.

TMG Digital/BusinessLIVE

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