The JSE resumed trading after the Christmas break and traded firmer at the start of the shortened trading week before the new year.
Investors cheered news from China, as reported by Bloomberg, that the country will scrap its eight-day quarantine programme from January 8 for all inbound travellers thus ending three years of self-isolation from the world for the Asian country.
But even as China abandons its covid-19 restrictions, a surge in infections in the country has led many other nations to consider imposing restrictions, which include testing for travellers entering from China.
The local bourse traded 1.07% higher with the All Share Index closing at 74,278 points while global peers remained mixed.
Tech stocks have weighed on global markets after Tesla’s stock plunged on Tuesday after a report that the electric vehicle manufacturer would temporarily halt production at its Shanghai facility.
Meanwhile, Tencent added 1.87% on Hong Kong’s Hang Seng after it gained licenses to major video game titles, reinforcing hopes that Beijing’s crackdown on tech firms may be coming to an end.
Naspers and Prosus, which have exposure to Tencent via a sizeable holding in the Chinese tech firm, closed 2.75% and 1.68% higher respectively.
In the currency markets, the rand opened weaker this morning, in line with other emerging market currencies, trading at R17.26 versus the dollar. At 5 pm, the local unit was trading stronger at R17.13 against the greenback.
