JSE faces buoyant Asian markets on Wednesday as Ukraine tension eases

The JSE could benefit from a buoyant session for Asian markets on Wednesday, with tension over Ukraine easing a little and corporate news providing a further boost.

French President Emmanuel Macron said on Tuesday that Russia does not want to escalate the crisis in Ukraine, pushing Brent crude briefly back below $90 a barrel.

Solid US earnings reports have also helped to support equity markets this week, while Reuters reported on Wednesday that Japanese investment giant SoftBank would not be cutting its $150bn (R2.3-trillion) stake in e-commerce giant Alibaba.

In morning trade on Wednesday Alibaba was up more than 6%, while the Hang Seng had risen 2%.

The Shanghai Composite was up 0.4% and Japan’s Nikkei 1.2%.

Tencent, which influences the JSE via the Naspers stable, had gained 2.2%.

Gold was up 0.12% to $1,827.87/oz while platinum was 0.12% lower at $1,031. Brent crude was 0.14% lower at $91.14 a barrel, having lost 1.8% on Tuesday.

The rand was flat at R15.33/$, having gained 0.9% on Tuesday.

The SA Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s (Sacci) business confidence index for December and January is due later, with economists expecting the latter to show a slight dip from November’s number.

Paper and packaging group Sappi is due to provide an update on its first quarter to end-December, and could provide a further update on how port issues in Durban have affected profits. At the end of its 2021 year, the group said it was encouraged by the trend of recovery in demand for its products. 

gernetzkyk@businesslive.co.za