Morning

We’ll probably be in for a lower start as the Dow falls for the first time in 3 days, drops 100 points on U.S.-China tensions

South African Data on the budget and trade balances, money supply and private-sector credit for April will provide clues on the performance of the economy during the Covid-19 lockdown.

* 9am: South African Social Development Ministry briefs lawmakers on food security during Covid-19 pandemic
* PIC, Africa’s Biggest Fund Manager May Convert Eskom Debt to Equity
* (NPN SJ): Naspers Extends Worst Streak This Year Amid China, Tech Concerns

EARNINGS:
* Tsogo Sun Hotels (TGO SJ)

ECONOMIC DATA
* 8am: (SA) April Money Supply M3 YoY, est. 7.6%, prior 9.49%
* 8am: (SA) April Private Sector Credit YoY, est. 7.9%, prior 7.84%
* 2pm: (SA) April Trade Balance Rand, est. 13b, prior 24.2b
* 2pm: (SA) April Monthly Budget Balance, prior -51.2b

MARKETS

Yesterday the FTSE/JSE Africa All-Share Index closed up 1.8% to 51,389. The Rand was down 0.2% to 17.41 vs the USD and is currently weakening further to around the 17.51 level, with the Yield on 10 year govt rand bonds that fell 4.8 bps to 8.959%

Europe were strong across the board yesterday as optimism grew about the reopening of economies worldwide and a potential coronavirus vaccine  The FTSE 100 gained 1.2%, with the German DAX that added 1.06% and in France the CAC 40 put on 1.7%.

US stocks closed lower last night, erasing solid gains from earlier in the day, after President Donald Trump said he would be giving a news conference Friday regarding China. The Dow fell 147 points, or 0.6%, to 25,400. At its session high, the Dow was up 210 points. The S&P 500 slid 0.2% to 3,029, giving back a jump of 1.1%. The Nasdaq dropped 0.5% to 9,368. Facebook and Netflix fell more than 1% each while Amazon and Alphabet posted small losses. Bank stocks gave back some of their strong gains for the week. Citigroup dropped 5.9% while Bank of America declined by 4.3%. Wells Fargo dipped 2.6% and JPMorgan Chase slipped 1.5%. Trump’s announcement came after China’s National People’s Congress approved a national security bill for Hong Kong. The bill will bypass Hong Kong’s legislature, raising concerns over the longevity of Hong Kong’s “one party, two systems” principle, which allows additional freedoms mainland China does not have.

Asian shares are on the backfoot ahead of President Donald Trump’s planned press conference to announce fresh steps on China. China’s
imposition of a national-security law on Hong Kong, have cast a cloud over a global stock rally spurred by reopening economies. The Nikkei is down 0.18%, the Hang Seng slipping, down 0.71% (Tencent down 0.25%) and in OZ the ASX 200 lost 1.63%, with miners mostly weighing, BHP down 1.48%, RIO -0.25% and South32 2.05%.

Oil trimmed its biggest monthly advance on record as crude was swept up in the broader negative sentiment around deteriorating U.S.-China relations, even as historic supply cuts tighten the market, with West Texas Intermediate crude falling 1.9% to $33.06 a barrel. Gold is little changed at $1,719 an ounce, with both Platinum & Palladium gaining slightly, up 0.18% & 0.77% respectively.

The FTSE/JSE Top 40 future is pointing to a lower start down 370 points or 0.78%  on lower Asian markets, with US & European futures all softer this morning.

Have a good day