JSE faces pressure on Friday as economic toll of Covid-19 becomes clearer

The JSE could be under pressure on Friday morning, as investors digest dire economic data out of the eurozone, and the failure of the drug remdesivir in a clinical trial.

Markets had been boosted by reports that remdesivir had helped Covid-19 patients with severe symptoms recently, however, the Financial Times has reported that the drug “flopped” in its first clinical trial.

Markets were also digesting a fall in the eurozone purchasing managers’ index to a record low of 13.5 points in April. Anything below 50 points reflects a contraction in activity.

This had reaffirmed the economic fallout from the virus, and eroded risk appetite, said Peregrine Treasury Solutions executive director Bianca Botes in a note.

In morning trade on Friday the Shanghai Composite was down 0.62% while Japan’s Nikkei had fallen 0.74%.