JSE faces mixed Asian markets on Wednesday

The JSE faces mixed Asian markets on Wednesday morning, as the increasing number of Covid-19 cases competes with optimism around a possible vaccine  and progress in EU stimulus talks.

The rand held on to its gains, trading little changed on Wednesday morning at R16.39/$, more than a one-month high.

The local currency continues to brush off negative local news, including discussions about the need for International Monetary Fund (IMF) funding and bailouts for SAA, Peregrine Treasury Solutions executive director Bianca Botes said in a note.

In morning trade the Shanghai composite was up 1.2%, while the Australian all ordinaries index had fallen 1.4%.

Tencent, which influences the JSE via Naspers, had fallen 0.98%.

Gold was up 0.87% to $1,857.51/oz while platinum was flat at $879.74. Brent crude was 0.11% up at $44 a barrel.

Locally, retail sales numbers for April and May are due later, and should show how the Covid-19 lockdown affected the industry during these months.

Globally, the focus is on Covid-19 figures and US home sales numbers for June.