A late flurry of buying pushed the JSE to a firmer close on Tuesday though the prospect of an imminent Russian invasion of Ukraine kept investors’ nerves jangling.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said that he would recognise the independence of two breakaway regions in Ukraine, undercutting peace talks with the US and Western European allies, and prompting deeper sanctions from Washington and the UK.
Biden is scheduled to deliver an update on the situation at 8pm SA time after Russia’s parliament voted to give Putin sweeping powers to deploy troops abroad.
“While the latest developments look like a precursor to an invasion — and may well be just that — they could also be deliberate attempts to add further urgency to the situation and force people into serious negotiations,” said Oanda senior market analyst Craig Erlam.
“As it stands, investors appear to be hoping this [the latter option] is the case and as long as Russia continues to seek a diplomatic solution and troops remain on the right side of the border, interest in the dips will remain,” Erlam added.
The JSE all share ended the day 0.17% higher at to 75,653.84 points, chiefly supported by the precious metals and mining sub-index which surged 3.09%. The top 40 added 0.26%.
Gold, which is a haven for investors in times of uncertainty or crisis, was trading at $1,903.10 an ounce in New York, down 0.1% on the day but around the precious metal’s highest level in eight months.
At 6.49pm, the Dow Jones industrial average was 0.82% weaker at 33,800.82, while the broader S&P 500 was down 0.54% and the Nasdaq had fallen 0.92%.
In Europe, London’s FTSE 100 closed 0.13% higher, while Germany’s DAX eased 0.26% and France’s CAC 40 was little changed.
On the JSE, Grindrod rose 10.39% to R5.63 — its best one-day gain since April 2020 — after the group said reported a “commendable” performance in its core businesses for the year to end-December 2021.
Murray & Roberts (M&R) fell the most since April 2020 after the engineering group said it expected to return to profit in the six months to end-December, but warned that Covid-19 continues to affect the timing of new work. The shares dropped 8.52% to R12.35.
At 6.39pm, the rand had strengthened 0.58% to R15.0468/$, 0.17% to R17.0721/€ and 0.62% to R20.4531/£. The euro was 0.33% firmer at $1.1347.
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