JSE starts new quarter amid mixed Asian markets on Friday

The JSE, which was weighed down in the first quarter by a slumping Tencent, looks set to start the second one amid mixed Asian markets, with investor attention still fixated on the war in Ukraine and the prospect of aggressive interest rate hikes.

US personal consumption expenditures, the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation measure, rose as expected to 6.4% in March, data showed on Thursday, but personal spending figures missed expectations, fuelling concerns rising interest rates may push the US into recession.

Hopes of a ceasefire this week have also faded, with talks continuing on Friday, as Reuters reported that Ukrainian forces are preparing for a new offensive in the south east of the country.

Focus on Friday is on US nonfarm payrolls, which should provide further data on the health of the world’s largest economy, which will need to deal with a series of interest rate increases in 2022.

In morning trade the Shanghai Composite was up 0.62% while the Hang Seng was down 0.77% and Japan’s Nikkei 0.49%.

Tencent, which influences the JSE via the Naspers stable, had given back 0.69%.

Gold was up 0.12% to $1,938.96/oz while platinum had risen 1.12% to $994. Brent crude was hovering at about $104 a barrel, having tumbled about 7% on Thursday, when the White House announced plans to release 1-million barrels per day for six months in a bid to ease pressure on fuel prices.

Locally, the Absa manufacturing purchasing managers’ index for March is due later, and could indicate how sentiment has been affected by events in Ukraine.

The seasonally PMI rose to 58.6 points in February in a broad-based manner from 57.1 in January. The neutral level is 50, which separates expansion from contraction.

The JSE had gained 2.43% in the first quarter of 2022, with banks up almost 25%, while the JSE’s precious metals index added about 12%.

Naspers, however, lost about a third of its value, while Prosus gave back almost 40%.

 gernetzkyk@businesslive.co.za