SOUTH AFRICA MARKET REVIEW
- South African markets closed in the green yesterday, as investor morale was restored after the US Federal Reserve (Fed) renominated Jerome Powell as its Chairman for a second term.
- Real estate property companies, Accelerate Property Fund (JO:APFJ), Capital & Counties Properties and Growthpoint Properties (JO:GRTJ) gained 4.4%, 2.0% and 1.6%, respectively.
- Mining companies, BHP Group (JO:BHPJ), African Rainbow Minerals (JO:ARIJ) and Anglo American (JO:AMSJ) advanced 2.7%, 1.8% and 1.6%, respectively.
- Banker, FirstRand (JO:FSRJ), Absa Group Limited (JO:ABGJ) and Nedbank Group (JO:NEDJ) added 1.5%, 1.1% and 0.9%, respectively.
- On the other hand, retail sector companies, Steinhoff International Holdings (JO:SNHJ) N.V. and Massmart Holdings (JO:MSMJ) declined 3.8% and 1.3%, respectively.
- The JSE All Share index advanced 0.7% to close at 70,865.85.
- The UK market finished firmer yesterday, buoyed by gains in mining and telecom sector stocks.
- Mining companies, Antofagasta (LON:ANTO), BHP Group and Anglo American (JO:AGLJ) advanced 5.0%, 3.1% and 1.1%, respectively.
- Telecommunication groups, Vodafone Group (LON:VOD) and BT Group (LON:BT) gained 3.2% and 2.5%, respectively, after KKR offered to take over peer, Telecom Italia (MI:TLIT).
- Pharmaceutical company, GlaxoSmithKline (LON:GSK) added 0.3%.
- Financial sector stocks, Barclays (LON:BARC), Lloyds Banking Group (LON:LLOY) and HSBC gained 2.0%, 1.4% and 1.2%, respectively.
- On the flipside, Just Eat Takeaway.com N.V., Next and Burberry Group (LON:BRBY) plunged 5.1%, 0.9% and 0.8%, respectively.
- The FTSE 100 index advanced 0.4% to close at 7,255.46.
US MARKET REVIEW
- US markets ended mostly lower yesterday, despite President, Joe Biden’s decision to renominate Fed Chairman, Jerome Powell for a second term.
- Macy’s declined 2.7%, even after the company announced its plan to launch a curated digital marketplace alongside 3Q21 profits that soared past expectations.
- On the contrary, Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) gained 0.1%. Meanwhile, the company announced that Walt Disney World temporarily stopped selling most annual passes less than two months after reviving the program following a pandemic-related pause.
- The S&P 500 index fell 0.3% to settle at 4,682.94, while the DJIA index marginally advanced to close at 35,619.25.
- The NASDAQ index eased 1.3% to end the trading session at 15,854.76.
ASIA MARKET REVIEW
- Asian markets are trading lower this morning, tracking overnight losses on Wall Street.
- In Japan, markets are closed today on account of a public holiday.
- In Hong Kong, pharmaceutical company, WuXi Biologics (HK:2269) has shed 3.5%.
- On the flipside, financial services company, CITIC has added 1.2%.
- In South Korea, electronics company, LG Electronics (KS:066570) has dropped 4.1%.
- On the other hand, high-voltage transformers manufacturer, Digital Power Communications has soared 7.8%.
- Yesterday, the Nikkei 225 index advanced 0.1% to settle at 29,774.11.
- Today, the Hang Seng index is trading 0.9% lower at 24,723.86, while the Kospi index is trading 0.5% lower at 2,998.06.
COMMODITIES
- At 06:00 SAST today, Brent spot prices fell 0.3% to trade at $79.22/bl, after US, Japan and India decided to release their crude oil reserves to cope up with rising prices, despite prospects for a decline in demand following a surge in COVID-19 cases in Europe.
- Yesterday, Brent spot prices rose 0.3% to settle at $79.48/bl, amid hopes that the OPEC+ will increase its crude oil production if larger oil consuming countries release their crude oil reserves or if there is a decline in demand amid the continued surge in coronavirus infections.
- Yesterday, the Illinois North Central No.2 Yellow corn spot prices rose 1.1% to $5.59/bushel.
- At 06:00 SAST today, gold prices advanced 0.2% to trade at $1,808.51/oz. Yesterday, gold declined 2.2% to close at $1,804.65/oz, as strength in the greenback dampened demand for the safe haven yellow metal.
- Yesterday, copper rose 0.8% to close at $9,835.50/mt. Aluminium closed 0.2% higher at $2,693.49/mt.
CURRENCIES
- Yesterday, the South African rand weakened against the US dollar. In the US, the Chicago Fed National Activity index indicated that the US economy accelerated in October. Existing home sales soared in October to its highest level in nine months, despite higher prices and supply constraints impacting first-time home buyers.
- The yield on benchmark government bonds rose yesterday. The yield on 2026 bond rose to 8.04%. Further, the yield on 2023 bond advanced to 5.27%, while that for the longer-dated 2030 issue rose to 9.58%.
- At 06:00 SAST, the US dollar is trading marginally higher against the South African rand at R15.8607, while the euro is trading marginally higher at R17.8234. At 06:00 SAST, the British pound has marginally gained against the South African rand to trade at R21.2482.
- Yesterday, the euro declined against most of the major currencies. In the eurozone, consumer confidence declined in November.
- At 06:00 SAST, the euro slipped marginally against the US dollar to trade at $1.1237, while it has marginally gained against the British pound to trade at GBP0.8388.
ECONOMIC UPDATES
- Spain had reported a trade deficit of EUR2.40bn in September, from a trade deficit of EUR3.88bn in the prior month.
- In October, the Chicago Fed national activity index registered a rise to 0.76 in the US. In the previous month, the Chicago Fed national activity index had recorded a revised level of -0.18.
- The flash consumer confidence index dropped to -6.80 in November, in the eurozone, higher than market expectations of a fall to -5.50. In the prior month, the consumer confidence index had registered a reading of -4.80.
- Existing home sales climbed 0.8% in the US on a MoM basis, in October. Existing home sales had recorded a rise of 7.0% in the prior month.
- Wholesale sales in Canada rose 1.4% on a monthly basis, in October. In the previous month, wholesale sales had risen 1.0%.
- In 3Q21, on a QoQ basis, retail sales in New Zealand registered a drop of 8.1%. In the previous quarter, retail sales had recorded a rise of 3.3%.
CORPORATE UPDATES
SOUTH AFRICA
- Naspers (JO:NPNJn) Limited: The technology company, in its 1H22 results, revealed that its revenue rose 43.2% from the same period of the preceding year to $3.58bn. Its diluted EPS stood at $29.91, compared with $4.89 recorded in the corresponding period of the previous year.
- Barloworld (LON:BWOB) Limited: The industrial brand management company, in its FY21 results, indicated that its revenue rose to R41.55bn from R33.91bn posted in the previous year. Its diluted EPS increased from the prior year to R13.76.
- Netcare (JO:NTCJ) Limited: The healthcare company, in its FY21 results, stated that its revenue increased to R21.20bn from R18.84bn posted in the previous year. Its diluted EPS rose 93.2% from the prior year to 54.30c.
- Omnia (JO:OMNJ) Holdings Limited: The chemical services company, in its 1H22 results, reported that its revenue advanced 30.7% from the same period of the preceding year to R9.90bn. Its diluted EPS stood at 302.00c, compared with 151.00c recorded in the corresponding period of the previous year.
- PPC Limited (JO:PPCJ): The construction materials company, in its 1H22 results, reported that its revenue advanced 20.1% from the same period of the preceding year to R5.13bn. Its diluted EPS stood at 61.00c, compared with 19.00c recorded in the corresponding period of the previous year.
- Accelerate Property Fund Limited (JO:APFJ): The real estate investment company announced that it has entered into a definitive sale and purchase agreement with two wholly-owned subsidiaries of investment funds managed by Slate Asset Management, dated 18 November 2021, in terms of which it will dispose of its nine European retail properties located in Austria and Slovakia for an aggregate disposal valuation of EUR87,400,000. The Offshore Portfolio is held through special- purpose vehicles in Austria and Slovakia which are the subject of the transaction agreement.
- Netcare (JO:NTCJ) issues dividend on jump in full-year profit: Netcare, SA’s third-largest private hospital operator by market value, has reinstated a dividend after managing to further reduce the length of stay for Covid-19 patients through what it said was evolving treatment regimens and effective bed allocation.