JSE faces subdued Asian markets on Monday as Chinese data disappoint
The JSE faces subdued Asian markets on Monday morning, with markets reacting to Chinese data, while SA is bracing for the fallout from a third wave of Covid-19.
President Cyril Ramaphosa announced on Sunday SA would be moving to a level 2 lockdown as Covid-19 infections increase, with the curfew tightened and the number of people that can attend indoor events reduced to 100.
More-damaging restrictions, such as on liquor sales, have been avoided for now, but Ramaphosa said that it remains unclear how long or severe SA’s third wave will be.
China’s official manufacturing purchasing managers’ index for May disappointed earlier, dropping slightly from the prior month to 51 points. This was below market expectations, but still represents expansion.
In morning trade Japan’s Nikkei was down 1.05% and the Hang Seng 0.5%.
Tencent, which gives direction to the local bourse through the Naspers stable, gained 0.9%.
Gold was flat at $1,907.30/oz while platinum rose 0.67% to $1,187.88. Brent crude was 0.37% weaker at $69.14 a barrel.
The rand was 0.2% weaker at R13.78/$.
Property group Vunani is due to release its results for the year to end-February later, saying in a recent trading update headline earnings per share will rise, though it did not go into details.
Source: businesslive.co.za
