JSE slips as rising Covid-19 cases worry investors

The JSE was weaker on Thursday, with its global peers mixed as the Covid-19 pandemic remains in focus with cases rising in some parts of the world.

This week, France and Italy both recorded the highest daily coronavirus death tolls since April, while the Paris region is close to exhausting its ICU capacity. In Germany, the number of Covid-19 patients in intensive care has reached a new record.

In the US, Covid-19 cases are hitting new records with New York tightening restrictions overnight. New York governor Andrew Cuomo has threatened to tighten restrictions further if cases continue to climb.

As progress on the vaccine front boosted stock markets this week, investors are cautious as important details are yet to be made clear.

“The Pfizer BioNTech vaccine news is a double-edged sword for Europe and the US, as health officials worry that vaccines hopes will lead to less social discipline among their respective populations. Sadly, things are likely to get worse before they get better,” said Oanda senior market analyst Jeffrey Halley.

At 9.50am, the JSE all share had lost 0.35% to 57,408.02 points and the top 40 fell 0.40. Platinum miners had lost 2.88%, financials 1.84%, banks 1.63% and resources 1.01%. The gold mining index had gained 0.64%.

Earlier, the Shanghai Composite lost 0.11% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng 0.39%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 gained 0.68%. 

In Europe, the FTSE 100 rose 1.35%, France’s CAC 40 0.48% and Germany’s DAX 30 0.4%.

Gold had gained 0.24% to $1,869.17/oz and platinum 0.41% to $867.53. Brent crude had gained 0.27% to $43.82 a barrel.

At 10.06am, the rand had weakened 0.4% to R15.6857/$ and 0.3% to R18.4768/€, while it was flat at R20.6717/£. The euro was little changed $1.1782.

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