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Financials give JSE a leg up but golds m... |
Back to waiting - for anything and everythingBONDS continued to strengthen marginally in a market that most traders still describe as dull and listless. If things carry on like this I am considering letting this space to Julie Walker for equity market report over-runs. The release of the money supply figures last Friday were up to expectation but bond rates only firmed two hours later. That probably means the figures were already discounted which, in turn, means the late buying had little or nothing to do with them. Now it's back to waiting again; for the budget, the new repo system, the effect of the long awaited S&P rating and about anything else you care to mention. Short-term rates continue to ease, which is good news for the bulls but it's a safe bet that the market has filled its boots with paper and that means somebody, sometime, will want to take profits; probably at a year-end to coincide with profit sharing arrangements. The 12 primary dealers who will relieve the Reserve Bank of its market-making function on April 1 are, even as we speak, checking out their risk management systems and preparing fresh-faced young men for battle. This is certainly not a job for anyone with vivid memories of how vicious a bear market in South African bonds can be. The narrow trading range of the bond market has affected the over-the-counter option market which was said to be "stupefyingly boring" last week. David Bullard Top of page
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