JSE faces subdued Asian markets on Wednesday morning
The JSE is set to open to subdued Asian markets on Wednesday morning, with focus squarely on the US Federal Reserve policy announcement in the evening.
US markets were lower on Tuesday, and there was nothing new to drive sentiment, rather risk-on sentiment dissipated a little after the boost given by last week’s stellar jobs report, AxiCorp chief global markets strategist Stephen Innes said in a note.
The Fed’s policy stance has supported the recovery in markets, and investors will be hoping for further plans from the bank, Innes said.
In morning trade, the Shanghai Composite was down 0.5% while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained 0.1%. Tencent, which influences the JSE via Naspers, added 2.3%.
The rand was 0.22% firmer at R16.60/$.
Gold was flat at $1,715.35/oz while platinum fell 0.1% to $835.65. Brent crude was down 0.69% to $40.58/$.
MultiChoice is due to report a rise in profits for the year to end-March, having reported reduced losses in its rest of Africa division recently.
Specialised financial services group Sygnia, which was founded by Magda Wierzycka, is due to report a sharp rise in profits in the six months to end-March later. It said recently that its low-cost products were faring well in a difficult trading environment.
Source: businesslive.co.za
