JSE faces firmer Asian markets on Thursday as focus remains on US
The JSE faces firmer Asian markets on Thursday morning, with focus remaining on political developments in the world’s largest economy.
US President Donald Trump has called for targeted stimulus to offset the Covid-19 pandemic, after calling off talks with Democrats over a new comprehensive package.
“If the last 24 hours has taught us anything, it is that the US presidential election and its evolution is becoming the most critical driver of volatility in financial markets,” said Oanda senior market analyst Jeffrey Halley in a note.
“That will only increase as the actual election date approaches and is likely to drown out economic data releases in the noise,” Halley said.
In morning trade, Japan’s Nikkei had gained 0.95% and the Australian All Ordinaries index 0.98%.
Gold was 0.11% weaker at $1,884.91/oz, while platinum had lost 0.19% to $861.35. Brent crude was 0.17% down at $42.08 a barrel.
The rand was flat at R16.63/$.
Financial services group PSG Konsult is due to release its interim results to end-August later, and has not provided an operational update recently. This implies that headline earnings per share have not moved in a range of more than 15%.
Source: businesslive.co.za
