Feedback on the Second Quarter 2024

LOCALLY, in general …

The National Election dominated the news. The resultant more centrist coalition (Government of National Unity – GNU) saw a rally in the Rand and a surge in domestic equities.

The economic outlook for SA has improved and the GNU has an opportunity to raise business and consumer confidence from an extremely low base.

Specifically …

• The USD/ZAR traded from 18.83 at the start of Q2 to 18.19 at the end of the quarter.

• The Industrials Index rose 5% for the quarter; the resource sector returned 4% and financials 18%.

• The SA Reserve Bank (SARB) kept the repo rate steady at 8.25%. In line with possible rate cuts in the developed markets in the second half of this year, the SARB may also be in a position to lower rates, although only mild cuts are expected.

GLOBALLY …

• Equity markets continued their strong performance.

• The European Central Bank started to ease interest rates.

• In the US the Federal Reserve is also expected to start easing interest rates during the second half of the year.

Source: Coronation