JSE faces mixed Asian markets on Tuesday

The JSE faces mixed Asian markets on Tuesday morning, though global markets were mostly positive on Monday, when the Bank of Japan ramped up its stimulus measures.

The local market was closed for the Freedom Day public holiday on Monday, when the Bank of Japan promised to buy unlimited amounts of government bonds, injecting optimism into global markets.

Sentiment is also being supported by the lifting of lockdown restrictions globally, said AxiCorp chief global markets strategist Stephen Innes in a note. “And while the global economy is climbing out of a bottomless hole, even baby steps up the ladder will be viewed in a positive light,” he said.

The oil price remains volatile, amid concern in the market the world is running out of storage space.

In morning trade on Tuesday the Hang Seng was up 0.77%, extending Monday’s 1.88% gain. Japan’s Nikkei was down 0.45%, but added 2.71% on Monday.

Tencent, which influences the direction of the JSE via major shareholder Naspers, was up 0.53%.

Gold was down 0.96% to $1,696.91/oz while platinum had lost 0.28% to $758.28. Brent crude was down 4.6% to $19.06 a barrel, having fallen 9.1% on Monday.

The rand was 0.33% weaker at R18.82/$, but rose 1.33% on Monday.

There is little on the local corporate or economic calendar on Tuesday, with focus instead on meetings of the European Central Bank and US Federal Reserve later this week.

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