CAPE TOWN – Prosus’s share price climbed 6.72 percent to R1 657.11 on the JSE at midday on Thursday, reversing the previous day’s 6.1 percent decline.
The group is the international internet assets division of Naspers and largest consumer internet company in Europe.
The share price of Naspers, which has an associate investment in Chinese internet gaming giant Tencent, was up 4.72 percent by midday on the JSE on Thursday, reversing a 4.7 percent decline on the JSE on Wednesday.
The share closed yesterday at R3 146.34. The share prices were in line with other leading global tech stocks.
In the US, the tech-heavy Nasdaq index closed higher on Wednesday as investors switched back to technology stocks and away from economically sensitive sectors, on worries about a surge in the virus and likely timing of an economic rebound.
The Nasdaq had fallen heavily over the previous two days after positive news on Monday about a Covid-19 vaccine.
Investors have been driving tech shares higher through the pandemic as these companies are seen as relatively safer investments amid the economic decline due to the pandemic.
Meanwhile, CNN Business reported that Beijing could tighten the screws on China’s biggest tech companies through planned internet legislation, wiping hundreds of billions of dollars off stocks value on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Shares in Alibaba and JD.com had plunged more than 10 percent each in Hong Kong, putting both stocks on track for their worst week ever.
Meituan, which offers services similar to Groupon and Yelp, and gaming company Tencent also shed billions of dollars in market value.
All told, the four stocks have lost $255 billion (about R3.98 trillion) in two days, based on the value of their Hong Kong shares.
However, Tencent’s share price had regained 4.72 percent to HK$577 in Hong Kong by late yesterday afternoon. On Tuesday, the state administration for market regulations, China’s top market regulator, had, according to reports, outlined guidelines intended to prevent internet monopolies.
The regulator has said that it was soliciting public opinions on the draft guidelines until the end of this month.
BUSINESS REPORT