South African business people have dashed rumors that the market will experience a “Mandela crash” if the former leader and icon passes away, after Africa’s currency and biggest stock exchange was hit by sharp sell-offs.
According to the Agence France Presse, Mandela’s condition became progressively worse on Monday.
The 94-year-old former politician has been in critical condition since the weekend. He has not been involved with politics for more than 10 years.
But some critics still see a connection between his hospitalization and the waning strength of the market.
The Johannesburg Stock Exchange dropped around nine percent during the month of June, while the rand lost 1.6 percent against the dollar since Mandela checked into a health care facility on the eighth of this month, AFP reported.
Nonetheless, stock exchange traders insist one thing does not have much to do with the other.
Strategist at Citi Adriaan du Toit said that Mandela-induced sell-offs were “not fundamentally supported,” because his impact on the government was “negligible” at best.
Nedbank Capital representative Mohammed Nalla said that the rumors were just that-not based in a kernel of truth.
“A lot of the rhetoric around a risk to the rand and the South African economy due to Madiba’s illness is largely unfounded,” Nalla said, referring to the former leader by his tribe name.
Read more on this story at hngc.com
