JSE may fall on Friday as coronavirus fears persist
The JSE could take its lead from weaker Asian markets on Friday morning, after what has been a wild week for global equities as investors continue to contemplate the effects of the coronavirus.
The Dow fell more than 3.5% on Thursday, while Asian markets were lower on Friday morning, with Japan’s Nikkei falling 3.27% and the Hang Seng 2.15%.
There appeared to be some division in expected mortality rates, with the US government’s expectations lower than that of the World Health Organisation’s (WHO), which could point to a less co-ordinated response to the virus, said National Australia Bank analyst Tapas Strickland in a note.
Markets are likely to remain volatile as they continuously reassess the probable economic impacts largely based on headlines, Strickland said.
“With no material developments around the virus itself overnight, assessments of the economic costs look to have weighed on sentiment as the reality set in that a significant chunk of global GDP is set to go up in flames,” said AxiCorp chief market strategist Stephen Innes in a note.
Tencent was down 2.2% in trade in Hong Kong, while commodities were also under pressure on Friday morning.
Gold was up 0.13% to $1,673.95/oz while platinum had fallen 0.17% to $861.51. Brent crude was 1.24% lower at $46.44 a barrel.
There is little in terms of scheduled local corporate news on Friday, while foreign exchange reserve data for February is due later.
Globally, US nonfarm payrolls data for February is due later. The measure is widely watched for signs of future interest rate policy from the Federal Reserve, which implemented an emergency 50 basis point cut earlier this week.
Source: businesslive.co.za