JSE gains as global sentiment improves

The JSE was higher on Friday morning as most global markets recovered while uncertainty regarding the US-China trade war  lingers.

Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Friday that China wants to complete a phase-one trade deal with the US and to avoid a trade war, Reuters reported.

This follows reports earlier in the week that the US would impose higher tariffs on Chinese goods should a phase-one deal not be reached.

The US Senate passed a bill aimed at supporting the Hong Kong protesters earlier this week, with some analysts fearing that this move will only escalate tension between the two countries.

“US President Donald Trump’s potential support for the Hong Kong protests may complicate the path towards reconciliation between the world’s two largest economies,” FXTM market analyst Han Tan said.

Earlier, the Shanghai Composite was down 0.63% while Hong Kong's Hang Seng  was up 0.48% and Japan's Nikkei 225 0.32%. 

In Europe, the FTSE 100 was up 1.17%, France's CAC 40 0.81% and Germany's DAX 0.8%. 

At 11.05am, the JSE all share added 0.4% to 56,766.10 points and the top 40 0.48% Banks were up 0.51% and resources 1.08%. 

Industrial property company Stenprop said on Friday that it had declared an interim dividend of 3.375 pence in the six months to end-September. Its share price was unchanged at R21.60.

Tiger Brands dropped 5.16% to R219.95. The consumer goods company said on Friday that headline earnings per share fell 17% to 1,349c in the year to end-September.

mjoo@businesslive.co.za