JSE Faces a Weak August End amid Inflation Rates & US Job Data

The Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) ended the month of August on a weaker note, in comparison to mixed global counterparts, as investors focused their attention on the Federal Reserve's inflation measures and key jobs data in the United States.

The measure of inflation that has been closely monitored by the Fed, known as the Core Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price index, continued to stay low in July, matching market expectations. This index showed a gradual increase of 0.2% from the previous month and 4.2% from a year ago. This increment supports the prevailing market viewpoint that price increases are beginning to cool down.

Investors across the globe, especially those associated with the JSE, are now shifting their focus towards critical job-related data from the United States. This attention shift is in anticipation of any potentially significant impacts on global stock markets, particularly South Africa's JSE, as it has faced a downwards trend towards the end of August.