SOUTH AFRICA MARKET REVIEW
- South African markets closed in the green on Thursday, boosted by gains in mining sector stocks.
- Gold miners, Gold Fields (JO:GFIJ), Harmony Gold Mining (JO:HARJ) and AngloGold Ashanti (JO:ANGJ) advanced 3.4%, 3.2% and 2.1%, respectively.
- Platinum miners, Impala Platinum (JO:IMPJ), Northam Platinum (JO:NPHJ) and Anglo-American Platinum (JO:AMSJ) gained 2.8%, 2.4% and 1.5%, respectively.
- Diversified miners, African Rainbow Minerals (JO:ARIJ), Anglo American and Kumba Iron Ore (JO:KIOJ) rose 2.5%, 2.4% and 2.3%, respectively.
- On the flipside, retailers, Foschini Group (JO:TFGJ) and Mr Price Group (JO:MRPJ) declined 3.4% and 1.1%, respectively.
- Insurance companies, Discovery and Sanlam (JO:SLMJ) shed 2.7% and 1.5%, respectively.
- Food companies, Astral Foods (JO:ARLJ), Tiger Brands (JO:TBSJ) and Famous Brands (JO:FBRJ) fell 1.2%, 0.9% and 0.6%, respectively.
- The JSE All Share index advanced 0.9% to close at 74,535.99.
UK Market Review
- The UK market finished firmer on Thursday, led by gains in retail sector stocks and as the Britain economy entered shallow recession in 2023.
- Retailer, JD Sports Fashion (LON:JD) surged 15.7%, after the company revealed that it expects its annual pre-tax profit to meet its previously downgraded guidance.
- Miners, Fresnillo (LON:FRES), Antofagasta (LON:ANTO) and Glencore (LON:GLEN) (JO:GLNJ) advanced 2.8%, 2.7% and 1.5%, respectively, amid signs of stabilisation in China's economy.
- Gaming and entertainment companies, Entain (LON:ENT) and Flutter Entertainment (LON:FLTRF) gained 1.6% and 0.7%, respectively.
- Banking firms, NatWest Group (LON:NWG), Barclays (LON:BARC) and HSBC Holdings (LON:HSBA) added 1.0%, 0.9% and 0.7%, respectively.
- On the other hand, water utilities companies, Severn Trent (LON:SVT) and United Utilities Group (LON:UU) dropped 2.8% and 1.6%, respectively.
- The FTSE 100 index advanced 0.3% to close at 7,952.62.
US MARKET REVIEW
- US markets ended mostly lower yesterday, amid ongoing investor concerns over the timing of interest rate cuts by the US Federal Reserve.
- Delivery and logistics companies, FedEx Corporation (NYSE:FDX) and United Parcel Services dropped 3.3% and 0.7%, respectively.
- Financial services companies, Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC), Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) and Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) declined 1.1%, 1.0% and 0.7%, respectively.
- On the contrary, semiconductor chips companies, Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) and Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:AMD) advanced 5.4% and 1.6%, respectively.
- Energy companies, Devon Energy Corporation (NYSE:DVN), Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX) and Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) rose 1.5%, 0.9% and 0.7%, respectively.
- The S&P 500 index fell 0.2% to settle at 5,243.77, while the DJIA index declined 0.6% to close at 39,566.85.
- The NASDAQ index climbed 0.1% to end the trading session at 16,396.83.
ASIA MARKET REVIEW
- Asian markets are trading higher this morning.
- In Japan, steel company, Nippon Steel Corporation (TYO:5401) has advanced 2.8%.
- On the flipside, automobile company, Yamaha Corporation (TYO:7951) has declined 2.4%.
- In Hong Kong, consumer electronics company, Xiaomi Corporation (HK:1810) has surged 11.5%.
- On the other hand, internet technology company, Netease (HK:9999) has plunged 7.4%.
- In South Korea, semiconductors company, LX Semicon (KS:108320) has jumped 6.1%.
- On the contrary, pharmaceutical company, Shin Poong Pharmaceutical (KS:002870) has shed 6.4%.
- The Nikkei 225 index is trading 0.1% higher at 39,853.20.
- The Hang Seng index has gained 2.5% to trade at 16,957.05, while the Kospi index is trading 0.3% higher at 2,754.97.
COMMODITIES
- At 05:30 SAST today, Brent prices rose 0.5% to trade at $87.85/bl.
- Yesterday, Brent prices rose 0.5% to settle at $87.42/bl, amid prospects that economic growth in the US and China would boost demand.
- At 05:30 SAST today, gold prices advanced 0.1% to trade at $2,253.45/oz. Yesterday, gold gained 0.8% to close at $2,250.36/oz, as optimism surrounding possibilities of US Fed’s interest rate cuts faded due to a strong US economic data.
- Yesterday, copper marginally declined to close at $8,766.36/mt. Aluminium closed marginally lower at $2,336.85/mt.
CURRENCIES
- Yesterday, the South African rand weakened against the US dollar. In the US, the ISM manufacturing PMI improved in March for the first time since September 2022.
- The yield on benchmark government bonds were mixed on Thursday. The yield on the 2030 bond advanced to 10.88%, while that for the longer-dated 2040 issue remained unchanged at 13.32%.
- At 05:30 SAST, the US dollar is trading 0.1% lower against the South African rand at R18.9229, while the euro is trading 0.2% lower at R20.3083. At 05:30 SAST, the British pound has declined 0.2% against the South African rand to trade at R23.7336.
- Yesterday, the euro mostly declined against most of the major currencies. In the UK, the BRC shop price index advanced in February.
- At 05:30 SAST, the euro slipped 0.1% against the US dollar to trade at $1.0731, while it has slightly weakened against the British pound to trade at GBP0.8559.
ECONOMIC UPDATES
- In South Africa, trade surplus stood at R14.04bn in February, compared to a deficit of R9.44bn.
- In the UK, the BRC shop price index rose 1.3% on a YoY basis in February, compared to a rise of 2.5% recorded in the previous month.
- In Italy, the consumer price index (CPI) rose 0.1% on a MoM basis in March, more than market expectations for a rise of 0.2%. The CPI had recorded a level of 0.1% in the prior month.
- In the US, the number of initial jobless claims unexpectedly fell to a level of 210.00K in the week ended 15 March 2024, compared to a revised level of 212.00K recorded in the prior month.
- In the US, annualised gross domestic product (GDP) rose 3.4% on a QoQ basis in 4Q23, compared to a rise of 3.2% recorded in the prior quarter.
- In the US, the Chicago Purchasing Manager’s Index (PMI) unexpectedly fell to a level of 41.40 in March, compared to a level of 44.00 recorded in the prior month.
- In the US, the Michigan consumer sentiment index advanced to a level of 79.40 in March, compared to a level of 76.50 recorded in the previous month.
- In the US, pending home sales rose 1.6% on a MoM basis in February, more than market expectations for a rise to 1.5%. Pending home sales had recorded a revised drop of 4.7% in the previous month.
- In the US, the ISM manufacturing PMI rose to a level of 50.30 in March, more than market expectations for a rise to a level of 48.40. The ISM manufacturing PMI had recorded a level of 47.80 in the prior month.
- In the US, the S&P Global manufacturing PMI fell to a level of 51.90 in March, compared to a level of 52.50 recorded in the previous month.
- In Canada, the S&P Global manufacturing PMI advanced to a level of 49.80 in March, compared to a level of 49.70 recorded in the previous month.
- In Japan, the unemployment rate rose to 2.6% in February, compared to 2.4% recorded in the prior month.
- In Japan, the Jibun Bank manufacturing PMI remained unchanged at 48.20 in March.
- In China, the NBS manufacturing PMI rose to a level of 50.80 in March, more than market expectations for a rise to a level of 49.90. The manufacturing PMI had recorded a level of 49.10 in the prior month.
- In China, the Caixin manufacturing PMI rose to a level of 51.10 in March, more than market expectations for a rise to a level of 51.00. The manufacturing PMI had recorded a level of 50.90 in the prior month.
CORPORATE UPDATES
SOUTH AFRICA
- Foschini Group Limited (JO:TFGJ): The retail company announced the appointment of Mr Ralph Buddle as Chief Financial Officer (CEO) and Executive Director with effect from 1 April 2024.
- Emira Property Fund Limited (JO:EMIJ): The real estate investment trust company, in its operational update for the six-months ended 30 September 2023, revealed that total vacancies across the portfolio have increased marginally to 4.3% (by GLA) at the end of February 2024. Retail vacancies increased to 4.1%. Meanwhile, office vacancies decreased to 11.3%. Also, industrial vacancies decreased marginally to 0.6%. Furthermore, the occupancy rate across the residential portfolio stood at 95.5% as at 29 February 2024. Also, the company announced that Emira and its wholly owned subsidiary, Cape Pointset Property Investments Proprietary Limited, have signed an agreement to dispose of the property and letting enterprise known as Makro Crown Mines to New Order Investments 90 Proprietary Limited signed by Ebrahim Ghood as the authorised shareholder representative, as to a 50% undivided share and BR Ephron Property Holdings Proprietary Limited, signed by Noor Mahomed as the authorised shareholder representative, as to a 50.0% undivided share, for an aggregate consideration of R337,500,000. Also, the company announced that it has signed an agreement to dispose of the property and letting enterprise known as Market Square (NYSE:SQ), Beacon Way, Plettenberg Bay to Lynx Real Estate Developments Proprietary Limited, signed by Johann van Zyl as the authorised shareholder representative, for an aggregate consideration of R354,000,000.
- RMB Holdings Limited (JO:RMHJ): The financial services company announced that RMH, RMH Property Holdco 5 Proprietary Limited, a subsidiary of RMH, and Divercity Urban Property Group Proprietary Limited have entered into an agreement. Pursuant to the Agreement, all the shareholder loan claims and the ordinary shares held by RMH Property in Divercity (representing 7.15% of the total issued ordinary shares in Divercity) will be repurchased by Divercity for the purchase consideration of R50,000,000.
- Ascendis Health Limited (JO:ASCJ): The healthcare company, in its 1H24 results, indicated that its revenue fell to R737.55mn from R777.21mn posted in the corresponding period of the previous year. Its basic and diluted EPS decreased 60.9% from the same period of the prior year to 12.70c.
- Bell Equipment (JO:BELJ) plays it safe as it sees markets cooling off: Bell Equipment reported a two-thirds jump in annual profit for 2023 boosted by unprecedented global demand for equipment in most markets, a positive commodity cycle and infrastructure spending abroad.
- ArcelorMittal (JO:ACLJ) lays bare the effect of mooted closure of long steel business: Steel major ArcelorMittal SA (Amsa) has laid bare the effect that the mooted wind-down of its long steel business will have on local economies, particularly that of Newcastle, which accounts for more than R10.00bn of the group’s annual procurement.