The JSE is facing mixed Asian markets after losses on Wall Street overnight as new economic data from the US added to worries about a global recession.
US retail sales fell more than expected in December and producer prices the most since April 2020, raising hopes that the US Federal Reserve will slow the pace of its interest rate hikes while others see this as an added reason for concerns about a possible recession.
“The data play to the theme that the US economy is on the verge of economic recession, if not already there,” Bank of New Zealand (BNZ) senior markets strategist Jason Wong wrote in a note.
The Shanghai composite in mainland China was up 0.13%, the Hang Seng in Hong Kong was flat and the Nikkei in Japan declined by 1.52% on Thursday morning.
Tencent, which influences the JSE via Naspers and Prosus, gained 0.63%.
Asian markets also tracked losses on Wall Street overnight.
Adding to this, was President Xi Jinping saying he is concerned about the spread of Covid-19 to rural areas as urban workers travel home for the Lunar New Year holiday, which starts on Sunday.
The JSE closed firmer on Wednesday buoyed by news that local consumer inflation in December eased to the lowest level since May 2022, while global markets were flat to lower.
Data from Stats SA shows headline inflation eased to an annual 7.2% in December from November’s 7.4%. That’s above the upper limit of the Reserve Bank’s 3%-6% target range.
The JSE all share gained 0.61% to 79,865.48 points while the top 40 rose 0.65%. Industrial metals were the biggest gainers, adding 2.23%, followed by resources (1.48%).
Over in the US, the Dow Jones fell 1.81%, the S&P 500 1.56% and the Nasdaq 1.24% on Wednesday.
In commodities, the price of platinum and gold rose 0.68% and 0.34%, respectively, while Brent crude dipped by 0.86%. Platinum traded at $1,041.00, gold $1,910.25/oz and Brent crude $83.81.
The rand was 0.08% weaker against the dollar, trading at R17.14/$.
The corporate calendar is bare for Thursday, with no releases expected.
In terms of economic data, Stats SA will publish a series of data, including the wholesale and motor trade sales for November.
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