Brent crude rose to around $89 a barrel at 23h00 on Monday, rising for the seventh session in a row and circling the highest levels in more than nine months, supported by hopes that OPEC+ members would extend steps to maintain a tight oil supply.
After Beijing allowed main cities to lower payments for homeowners and pushed lenders to lower rates on current mortgages, the Hang Seng climbed by 2.51% on Monday, hovering at more than a 3-week high. Meanwhile, Morgan Stanley economists predicted that China may take steps to relax its fiscal policies and address its high level of domestic debt. The Nikkei rose 0.70%, benefitting from expectations that the US Federal Reserve (Fed) could stop raising rates in response to indications that the US economy may be slowing. US markets were closed on Monday due to the Labour Day public holiday.
With heavyweight Naspers (JO:NPNJn) (+2%), industrials (+1.1%), resource-related sectors (+0.6%), and financials (+0.6%) as major contributors, the local bourse increased by around 0.80% on Monday. Investors will today keep a close eye on this morning’s Q2 GDP numbers. Eskom announced that additional blackout stages are required to replenish emergency generation reserves taking the country to Stage 6 from 05h00 today till further notice. This caused the rand to weaken to above R19/USD on Monday night.
As optimism about China's property support measures waned, major European stocks were unable to hold onto early gains on Monday, with the DAX dropping 0.10% and the pan-European STOXX 600 finishing flat after reaching a three-week high in morning trade. In the meantime, traders are increasingly betting that the Fed could stop raising its interest rates, while the European Central Bank (ECB) is widely expected to keep borrowing prices steady this month.
