News archive

US markets flopped badly last night, after Fed Chair Jerome Powell said that tariffs will probably cause inflation, and maybe a recession, and that interest rate cuts can't save the day. This will be Trump's legacy, unless he changes course.

In company news, Nvidia shares tumbled nearly 7% as it became apparent that the company is a pawn in the ongoing US - China trade war. The company flagged a $5.5 billion hit tied to new US restrictions on sales of the dumbed-down H20 processors that were developed for the Chinese market.

In summary, the JSE All-share was up 0.20%, but the S&P 500 fell 2.24%, and the Nasdaq was 3.07% lower. Oh no.

US markets ended slightly lower yesterday, giving up early gains after trade talks between the US and EU made "little progress". Earlier in the day China halted Boeing orders from the US. After the market close Nvidia was in the crossfire again as new restrictions on AI chip exports to China were announced.

In company news, Pfizer has abandoned a weight-loss candidate drug after a participant in its study suffered liver injuries. Elsewhere, Bank of America and Citigroup both posted good earnings. BofA climbed 3.6%, while Citi rose 1.8%.

In summary, the JSE All-share was up 0.91%, the S&P 500 fell by just 0.17%, and the Nasdaq was only 0.05% lower. That's acceptable.

US stocks opened well yesterday, then shook off a midday wobble to close higher. Sadly, these moves were thanks to tariff-related mumblings by you-know-who. Trump's non-stop announcements, exemptions, promises and admonishments makes it seem that the chaos is the point. He's loving being the centre of attention. It's his world now, and we just live in it.

In company news, Dell surged 4.0%, Apple added 2.2%, and Micron climbed 2.1%, all getting a lift from the US excluding laptops, semiconductors, and other electronics from steep tariffs. Automakers rose, for the same reason. Elsewhere, Goldman Sachs (+2.0%) joined the earnings party, reporting a record quarter for equity trading.

At the end of another exasperating day, the JSE All-share was up 2.67%, the S&P 500 rose 0.79%, and the Nasdaq was 0.64% higher. We shall remain fully invested, and try to look through all this drama.

US markets pulled off a strong finish on Friday, turning around an early dip and ending with a solid rally. The S&P 500 rose 5.7% last week, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite ended the week up 7.3%.

Over the weekend it appeared that US tariffs on the import of electronics will be lifted, so we should be in for a strong rally today, but who knows? We won't count our chickens before they hatch.

In company news, earnings season kicked off with JPMorgan up 4.0% after beating expectations on stock-trading revenue in the first quarter. Their CEO Jamie Dimon is probably the most influential businessman in the world, and he sounded cautious about the US economy.

In summary, the JSE All-share was up 0.42%, the S&P 500 rose 1.81%, and the Nasdaq was 2.06% higher. Ok then.

After Wednesday's euphoric bounce, markets slipped back yesterday because of the new and laughably high tariffs on US trade with China. Trump seems to think that free trade made Americans poor, when it actually made them rich. To "fix" this "problem" he implemented the one policy idea that almost every economist alive says is bad.

The US imports a lot of basic goods from China: $45 billion in textiles and garments, $19 billion worth of furniture, and a whopping $206 billion worth of electronics and machinery. Doubling the final price of all that is going to be disastrous.

In company news, gold mining stocks climbed. Two companies with South African roots that are listed in New York shone - Harmony Gold rose 10.5% and Gold Fields gained 8.5%. Elsewhere, Disney fell 6.8% and Warner Bros Discovery lost 12.5% after China said it would restrict imports of US films.

In short, the JSE All-share was up 4.31%, but the S&P 500 stumbled by 3.46%, and the Nasdaq drifted 4.31% lower.

Well, we said he'd cave, and he did. Trump conceded defeat and announced a 90-day delay in his dumbass tariff plan, triggering the biggest Wall Street rally since 2008. Punitive tariffs remain in place on China. Come on, this is no way to run a country. Businesses can't operate properly under these conditions.

After four bruising days, buyers piled back in with full force, lifting nearly every stock on the board. It was relief, euphoria, and FOMO all rolled into one. This is why we tell our clients to stay fully invested at all times.

In company news, Amazon is quietly shifting gears, cancelling orders from China and other Asian suppliers. Amazon would be on the hook for the 125% tax on all goods that arrive, which the company either needs to pass onto consumers or suck up themselves. Elsewhere, Airbus is flying slightly ahead of Boeing, delivering 136 jets in the first quarter.

At the close, the JSE All-share was down 2.07%, but the S&P 500 rose 9.52%, and the Nasdaq was an astonishing 12.16% higher. Monumental!

Wall Street was very volatile for a fourth day as the tit-for-tat trade war between the US and China kept investors on edge. The S&P 500 gave up a strong 4% gain to close the day down 1.6%. It was the first time since 1978 that it closed down by over 1% after starting with a surge of that scale. Not good.

In company news, Apple exported over $17 billion worth of iPhones from India in the past year, a massive 54% jump from the year before, but 80% of those iconic smartphones are still made in China. Expect that India number to keep rising. Note, they're not moving production to America. Elsewhere, Shopify's putting AI to the test: no new hires unless managers can prove a human beats the bot.

In short, the JSE All-share was up 2.51%, but the S&P 500 dropped 1.57%, and the Nasdaq was 2.15% lower. Rough.

US markets had a wild ride yesterday. A mid-morning Fox News story that tariffs might be delayed for 90 days sparked a sharp intraday rally, with the S&P 500 jumping 8% off its lows, only for those hopes to be dashed when the White House denied that in a post to X. These wild swings are most upsetting, but at least everyone is quite clear what the problem is (Trump) and what the solution might be (also Trump).

In company news, US consumers are scrambling to upgrade their iPhones and other Apple gear ahead of expected price hikes, fearing that the latest round of tariffs will force Apple to pass on the cost. Elsewhere, Microstrategy fell 8.7% after conceding that it has a $5.9 billion unrealized loss due to bitcoin purchases at higher prices.

At the close, the JSE All-share was up 0.75%, the S&P 500 dropped 0.23%, and the Nasdaq was 0.10% higher. That's not too bad, but hold your horses, overnight China said "the US threat to escalate tariffs on China is a mistake on top of a mistake. If the US insists on its own way, China will fight to the end."

US markets cratered on Friday, capping off a two-day meltdown that wiped out over $5 trillion in value, the worst since the pandemic panic of March 2020. The S&P 500 tumbled nearly 6% on the day. Trump's hare-brained country-specific tariffs come into effect on Wednesday, unless he reverses course.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell acknowledged the obvious on Friday: the trade war fallout is going to hurt a lot more than anyone had hoped. That means slower growth and stickier inflation, corporate indecision, and jammed up trade. Oil also got caught in the crossfire, sinking to a four-year low.

In company news, Meta has just unleashed Llama 4, its latest and most powerful AI model yet, built on one of the world's most advanced large language model architectures.

On Friday, the JSE All-share was down 5.26%, the S&P 500 dropped 5.97%, and the Nasdaq was 5.82% lower. Fugly!

US markets took a beating yesterday, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq posting their biggest daily drops since 2020. Donald Trump's one-man crusade to upend a century of trade liberalisation is not going well. Multinational stocks with complex business operations were hardest hit. For example, Apple fell 9.2%.

John Maynard Keynes' famous quote is "markets can remain irrational longer than you can remain solvent". However, for Vestact clients with their ungeared, high-quality portfolios the opposite is more appropriate: "We can stay solvent longer than Trump can remain retarded."

On a tough day that we will all remember, the JSE All-share was down 3.39%, the S&P 500 dropped 4.84%, and the Nasdaq slumped by 5.97% lower. Painful!

US markets ended higher yesterday ahead of Trump's post-market Rose Garden announcement. Sadly they plummeted after the full horror of his tariff plans became apparent. His team came up with an absurd formula to set sky-high tariffs on most trade partners. US equity futures are now deep in the red, and we expect today to be very difficult.

In company news, Tesla shares initially fell after reporting a 13% drop in first quarter global deliveries year-over-year but rebounded to close up 5.3%. The turnaround came after a Politico report suggested that Trump had told his inner circle that Elon Musk would be stepping back from his role with the administration in the coming weeks. Musk said this was "fake news."

The report for Wednesday was this, the JSE All-share was down 0.94%, the S&P 500 rose 0.67%, and the Nasdaq was 0.87% higher. Today? we can't yet say.

US markets closed in the green yesterday after a rebound in the world's largest tech companies. There's a lot to be worried about lately, with weak economic data and Trump's upcoming tariff tea party in the Rose Garden. Despite all that the S&P 500 somehow erased a 1% intra-day drop.

In company news, Johnson & Johnson tumbled 7.6% after a court rejected its latest attempt to settle those annoying talcum powder-related lawsuits. Elsewhere, recently-listed conservative media outlet Newsmax surged to a new high, and is now 2 000% up since Monday. What the hell?

In summary, the JSE All-share was up 1.48%, the S&P 500 rose 0.38%, and the Nasdaq was 0.87% higher. It's all very confusing.

US markets recovered from a nasty start yesterday, rising steadily during afternoon trading in New York. The first three months of 2025 have been very disappointing, the worst quarter for US stocks since 2022. Tech stocks got whacked over this period, but defensive sectors like healthcare held up better.

In company news, European defence stocks have had a strong year so far, with Germany's Rheinmetall surging 118% year-to-date and France's Thales up 77%. Elsewhere, Toyota fell 1.36% after President Trump told reporters he "couldn't care less" if foreign automakers are forced to raise prices due to tariffs. Finally, down jacket-maker Canada Goose shares sank 3.4% on views that it would be hit by tariffs.

Izolo, the JSE All-share was down 1.04%, but the S&P 500 rose 0.55%, and the Nasdaq was only 0.14% lower. Not too bad.

US markets had a horrible end to the week on Friday, with the S&P 500 down 2%. The usual concerns about mad tariffs, a slowing US economy, and the risk of inflation spooked investors. Today will mark the end of the quarter and the main index is down 5.1% year to date. The tech-heavy Nasdaq is down 10.3% which is obviously much worse.

In company news, CoreWeave's shares had a rocky debut, closing at $40 - right at its IPO price but well below the initial target range of $47 to $55. That's not a hairpiece reseller, it's an AI startup that rents out access to Nvidia chips. Elsewhere, French video game publisher Ubisoft rose 11.4% after announcing it would create a new subsidiary with iconic games such as Assassin's Creed and Far Cry. That offshoot will receive a $1.25 billion investment from China's Tencent.

On Friday, the JSE All-share was down 0.36%, the S&P 500 fell 1.97%, and the Nasdaq was 2.70% lower. Foof!

US markets wandered around aimlessly, before settling lower last night. It was the second down day after the shock announcement of 25% tariffs on all auto imports. GM, Stellantis, and Ford shares continued to tumble, while international carmakers like BMW, Toyota, and Hyundai also took a hit.

In company news, auto tariffs seem to be great news for the car rental industry, so Avis Budget Group soared 20.5% and Hertz popped 22.6%. Elsewhere, AppLovin shares tumbled 20% after short seller Muddy Waters accused the company of violating app store policies. Lastly, fancy athleisure brand Lululemon is down 10% after-hours because guidance came in below expectations.

In summary, the JSE All-share was down just 0.03%, the S&P 500 fell 0.33%, and the Nasdaq closed 0.53% lower. To paraphrase Bertrand Russell, when the crazies are full of conviction, clever people are filled with doubt.