JSE could take its lead from firmer Asian markets on Monday

The JSE could follow slightly firmer Asian markets on Monday morning, though local gold miners could feel the pinch of a firmer rand and a weaker precious metal price.

The main event this week is likely to be the signing of a partial US-China trade deal, with Chinese Vice-Premier Liu He set to begin a three-day visit to Washington on Monday.

It is widely expected that a partial trade deal will be inked this week, though there is unlikely to be an exceptional level of excitement in the market as the agreement has been extensively telegraphed, said AxiTrader chief Asia market strategist Stephen Innes in a note.

Asian markets were mostly positive on Monday morning, with Hong Kong’s Hang Seng up 0.82%. Tencent had added 0.65%, boding well from Naspers, which holds a sizeable stake in the Chinese tech giant.

Gold miners may feel some pressure on Monday morning, with the precious metal down 0.4% to $1,555.85/oz. Platinum had slipped 0.19% to $974.87/oz.

Brent crude had dropped 0.12% to $64.94 a barrel while the rand had firmed 0.3% to R14.31/$.

There is little on the local corporate or economic calendar, with domestic focus this week on the Reserve Bank’s first monetary policy announcement of 2020 on Thursday.

The Bloomberg consensus is that the Bank will opt to keep rates on hold, due to the lingering threat of SA being downgraded to junk status, which could put pressure on the rand and local bonds.

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Source: businesslive.co.za