JSE may struggle on Thursday as globe eyes Russian troop movements in Ukraine
The JSE looks set to open to weaker Asian markets on Thursday morning as hopes of a ceasefire in Ukraine wane, while commodity prices have also fallen ahead of a meeting of oil cartel Opec.
Ukraine and Russia resumed face-to-face talks in Turkey on Tuesday after about a two-week hiatus, but while Moscow has said it would withdraw forces around Kyiv, there is speculation it is shifting gears to conduct a new offensive focused on the Donbass region.
US markets slipped overnight, giving back gains from Tuesday, with the reversal coming on the heels of Russia pouring cold water on headlines of constructive ceasefire talks, SPI Asset Management managing partner Stephen Innes said in a note.
Earlier, data from China showed that manufacturing activity fell in March by more than expected, while there is also focus on a meeting of Opec later.
Expectations are that the oil cartel, along with Russia, won’t be raising the pace of its planned monthly production increases. Oil prices had fallen on Thursday morning, with Innes saying that while Opec has delivered surprises before, one isn’t expected on Thursday, but this hadn’t prevented caution in the market.
In morning trade the Hang Seng had lost 0.81%, Japan’s Nikkei 0.46% and the Shanghai Composite 0.11%.
Tencent, which often provides a direction for the JSE via Naspers, had given back 1.37%.
Gold was down 0.43% to $1,924.50/oz, while platinum had fallen 1.2% to $981. Brent crude was 4% lower at $108.11 a barrel.
The rand was 0.25% weaker at R14.52/$.
Northam Platinum is due to report its results for the six months to end-December later, saying in a recent update that earnings are up more than half amid buoyant metal prices, though production took a hit from factors including community unrest and mining accidents.
In economic news, producer inflation numbers for February are due later and are expected to remain relatively stable at about 10% when compared to January. The figures will seem a bit out of date, however, as prices of commodities such as fertiliser and oil and gas have surged in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Source: businesslive.co.za
