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I'm using the SA Top 40 futures chart from IG markets below....

The market is currently cross-current (momemtum pushing down against positive trend) so expect choppy conditions to continue. My favourite analogy is when the wind (momentum) blows counter to the prevailing current (trend) then you get choppy conditions. When the wind and current are moving in the same direction this cause big swells in that direction. This is when both long term and short term investors act together, instead of against each other.

However, although momentum is moving down it is still positive (i.e. in upper half of bottom chart) so expect bias to upside still. Wall Street is in a similar "wait and see", choppy mode so I don't expect any fireworks or big moves this week. The market is most likely expecting some data points and / or a statement about or from Yellen.

Out of interest, a recession usually follows the appointment of a new Fed Reserve chair.....
Volcker, appointed 1979, recession 1981 – 1982
Greenspan, appointed 1987, recession 1990 – 1991
Bernanke, appointed 2006, recession 2008 – 2009
Yellen, appointed 2014, recession ............

I thought it might be worth having a thread for USD:ZAR updates for those investing in shares as Rand hedges. The general mood seems to be that the Rand could weaken further but is a little overcooked at the moment. This is borne out as it approaches the top bollinger in the chart below.

Short term momentum is also a little overbought (i.e. Rand oversold) for now although the trend and long term momentum support this direction. I suspect we will see 10.80 forming a ceiling (support) level for the Rand and if markets pick up from here then some short term Rand strengthening is in order. Extrapolation of the lower bollinger suggests we could see 10.30 to 10.40 forming a floor level in a few weeks time as momentum inevitably moves back down. However this will be counter to trend and downward moves will be choppy and hard to profit from.

jaDEB, Ivan Glasenberg is a very clever man who learnt much of what he knows from Marc Rich and his crew. When you get on the phone with  Ivan and his generals prepare to be shouted down into submission. Glencore makes their money from trading which basically means having legions of people on the ground reporting into their offices in Baar, Switzerland up to three times a day. They then take outsized positions in the financial markets by having a physical information edge or owning a physical squeeze. Google the famous Glencore Arcadia oil squeeze.

Before they bought Xstrata their mining assets were pretty poor and they just used them for trading leverage. Now that Ivan actually has to run a mining business and they are a public company, Glencore will simply not be able to perform as well as they did before i.e. under the white light of transparency. Expect to see them more active in places like the DRC where not so many analysts like to go. However, they should be able to perform just as well as any other major mining house, if not better. They are massively exposed to thermal coal and zinc and would like to be more into oil and iron ore.