The JSE was firmer along with its global peers on Friday, as investors digested risks from China and prospects of a slowing global economic recovery.
Sentiment this week has been driven by much of the same thing — the Covid-19 Delta variant and its effect on the economic recovery, the prospects for tighter monetary policy in the US, and bubbling concerns around China regulations. Investors are nervous as to what will happen next.
Authorities in China have now turned their attention to casinos, with officials in the gambling hub of Macau announcing a review for the industry to be regulated, including the appointment of government representatives to “supervise” operators.
“We saw sentiment flip-flop on a daily basis this week. The Fed taper was front and centre once again, with equities finishing mixed. Next week’s federal open market committee (FOMC) meeting is the key inflection point for the taper trade now. Markets will be looking for a signal that the November meeting will be live for the announcement of the taper,” said Oanda senior market analyst Jeffrey Halley.
The ongoing regulatory interventions across a swath of China industries will keep China equities on the back foot, Halley added.
“Next week will be dominated by global central bank decisions, headlined by the Fed, including the likes emerging-markets heavyweights such as SA. The FOMC will be the one ring to rule them all of course, but don’t rule out hikes from Norway, Brazil and possibly SA and Turkey.”
At 9.45am, the JSE all share had gained 0.24% to 63,463.45 points and the top 40 was up 0.16%. Industrials had added 1.22%, banks 0.46% and financials 0.45% Industrial metals had lost 2.28% and resources 1.41%.
At the same time, the FTSE 100 had gained 0.86%, France’s CAC 40 0.80% and Germany’s DAX 0.62%.
Earlier, the Shanghai Composite added 0.19%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng 0.48% and Japan’s Nikkei 225 0.58%.
At 9.35am, the rand had strengthened 0.26% to R14.5472/$, 0.04% to R17.1367/€ and 0.23% to R20.0732/£. The euro was unchanged at $1.1778.
Gold gained 0.54% to $1,761.64/oz and platinum 1.37% to $943.80. Brent crude lost 0.50% to $75.22 a barrel.
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.