JSE faces weaker Asian markets on Thursday
The JSE must contend with weaker Asian markets on Thursday morning, with all signs pointing to another disappointing day for the local bourse.
The death toll from the coronavirus continues to climb, with numerous countries now suspending flights to China.
The virus is likely to affect Chinese growth, with the Chinese Academy of Science suggesting GDP growth could fall from 6% year on year in the first quarter to below 5%, said National Australia Bank analyst Tapas Strickland in a note.
Outside of China, the economic effect is likely to be felt more in the travel and tourism sector, Strickland said, with the oil price remaining very sensitive to headlines.
Japan’s Nikkei was down almost 2%, with Hong Kong’s Hang Seng falling another 1.75%. Tencent had lost 0.86%, which did not bode well for its largest shareholder, Naspers.
Gold had added 0.19% to $1,579.80/oz, while platinum had fallen 0.28% to $971.76.
Brent crude was down 0.72% to $59.14 a barrel.
The rand was 0.27% weaker at R14.6404/$.
The US Federal Reserve’s decision on Wednesday to leave interest rates unchanged expressed cautious optimism about the global economic outlook, said Peregrine Treasury Solutions corporate treasury manager Bianca Botes in a note. This was in line with market expectations, and the announcement had a minimal effect on the rand, she said.
Local focus on Thursday is on the start of a two-day cabinet meeting, with some expectation that there may be policy announcements.
Producer inflation data for December is due at 11.30am, with the consensus expectation that there was an acceleration to an annualised 3.4% in the last month of 2019.
Fleet management and vehicle tracking company Mix Telematics is also scheduled to give an update on earnings later.
Globally, there are few major data releases, with focus instead on the Bank of England policy announcement at 2pm SA time.
Source: businesslive.co.za
