JSE may find some support from trade war optimism

The JSE could find support from slightly higher Asian markets on Wednesday morning, though risk events may dampen activity.

Media reports have suggested that the US and China are working to avoid the implementation of new tariffs on Sunday, though a partial trade deal still seems elusive, AxiTrader chief Asian market strategist Stephen Innes said in a note.

“Really, to no-one’s surprise, China’s commitment to hefty agricultural import quotas remains the primary sticking point on that agreement, although significant concessions on intellectual property rights, currency, and access to China’s financial services markets are seemingly getting ironed out,” said Innes.

Locally, inflation data and retail sales numbers for November are due later, though load-shedding is likely to hog the spotlight.

Globally, all eyes are on the US Federal Reserve’s monetary policy announcement later, but no change in interest rates is expected, as the Fed has already cut rates three times in 2019.

US nonfarm payrolls numbers also overshot expectations for November, indicating that there is still economic momentum in the world’s largest economy. The Fed’s outlook for the US economy will, however, be closely watched.

In morning trade, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was up 0.3%, while the Shanghai Composite had added 0.12%.

Tencent was up 0.5% in Hong Kong.

Gold was flat at $1,463.38/oz while platinum had added 0.2% to $919.24. Brent crude was 0.42% at $63.91 a barrel.

The rand was flat at R14.7959/$.

The corporate calendar is light on Wednesday.

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Source: businesslive.co.za