JSE faces mixed Asian market on Monday as uncertainty persists
The JSE faces mixed Asian markets on Monday morning, with stocks in mainland China rebounding after an extended break for the Lunar New Year holiday.
In early trade the Shanghai Composite jumped 1.91%, while the Hang Seng lost 0.31% and Japan’s Nikkei 0.88%.
Global markets were lifted on Friday by a blockbuster US jobs report that showed Omicron failed to derail a labour market recovery in the world’s largest economy, where three-quarters of S&P 500 listed companies have met or beat earnings expectations for the fourth quarter.
Tension over Ukraine between the West and Russia remains however, with China backing Russia’s calls for no further expansion of Nato during a meeting at the weekend.
A US official has warned that a Russian invasion of Ukraine could take place “any day” while French President Emmanuel Macron will be travelling to Russia this week for peace talks.
Energy prices remain elevated. In early trade on Monday oil was trading 0.8% higher at $93.48 a barrel, having risen to a seven-year high, and almost 57% up from where it was a year ago.
Gold was up 0.14% to $1,810.41/oz while platinum was flat at $1,023.64.
The rand was 0.26% firmer at R15.44/$, having slipped 1.56% on Friday after the US jobs numbers fuelled expectations of tighter monetary policy.
Eskom’s suspension of load-shedding on Sunday serves as some positive news for the JSE on Monday, while domestic focus this week will be on the state of the nation address on Thursday that is expected to provide details on the government’s plans to help boost SA’s economic recovery and reduce unemployment.
Source: businesslive.co.za