SOUTH AFRICA MARKET REVIEW
- South African markets closed in the red yesterday, led by losses in consumer staple stocks.
- Food companies, RFG Holdings (JO:RFGJ), RCL Foods and Astral Foods (JO:ARLJ) dropped 7.0%, 1.7% and 1.0%, respectively.
- Insurance companies, Sanlam (JO:SLMJ) and Old Mutual (JO:OMUJ) shed 3.5% and 1.5%, respectively.
- Diversified miners, Kumba Iron Ore (JO:KIOJ) and Exxaro Resources (JO:EXXJ) declined 3.5% and 1.4%, respectively.
- Property developers, Emira Property Fund (JO:EMIJ), Equites Property Fund (JO:EQUJ) and Growthpoint Properties (JO:GRTJ) fell 2.3%, 2.1%, 1.6% and 1.2%, respectively.
- On the flipside, platinum miners, Impala Platinum (JO:IMPJ) and Anglo American Platinum (JO:AMSJ) jumped 7.8% and 4.1%, respectively.
- The JSE All Share index declined 0.3% to close at 83,483.38.
UK MARKET REVIEW
- The UK market finished weaker yesterday, amid a broad sell-off in aerospace sector stocks.
- Defence and aerospace companies, Rolls-Royce Holdings (LON:RR) and BAE Systems (LON:BAES) dropped 6.5% and 2.8%, respectively.
- On the other hand, real estate companies, Barratt Developments (LON:BDEV), Berkeley Group Holdings (LON:BKGH), Land Securities Group (LON:LAND) and Taylor Wimpey (LON:TW) advanced 3.1%, 1.1%, 1.0% and 0.9%, respectively.
- Telecommunications companies, Vodafone Group (LON:VOD) and BT Group (LON:BT) gained 1.6% and 0.5%, respectively.
- Travel and leisure companies, Whitbread (LON:WTB) and InterContinental Hotels Group (LON:IHG) rose 1.1% and 1.0%, respectively.
- The FTSE 100 index declined 0.2% to close at 8,363.84.
US MARKET REVIEW
- US markets were closed yesterday on account of a public holiday.
- On Friday, the S&P 500 index rose 1.0% to settle at 5,648.40, while the DJIA index advanced 0.6% to close at 41,563.08.
- The NASDAQ index climbed 1.1% to end the trading session at 17,713.63.
ASIA MARKET REVIEW
- Asian markets are trading mostly lower this morning.
- Meanwhile, South Korea’s inflation eased to a 42 month low in August.
- In Japan, chemical company, Mitsubishi Chemical (TYO:4188) Group has advanced 3.6%.
- On the flipside, electronics company, Renesas Electronics (TYO:6723) has declined 1.6%.
- In Hong Kong, banking company, Bank of China (HK:3988) has shed 2.6%.
- On the other hand, real estate company, Longfor Group Holdings (HK:0960) has gained 3.3%.
- In South Korea, automobile company, Kia Corporation (KS:000270) has dropped 3.1%.
- On the contrary, consumer electronics company, LG Corporation (KS:003550) has jumped 6.2%.
- The Nikkei 225 index is trading 0.2% higher at 38,787.80.
- The Hang Seng index has declined 0.3% to trade at 17,633.24, while the Kospi index is trading 0.1% lower at 2,677.84.
COMMODITIES
- At 05:30 SAST today, Brent prices fell 0.3% to trade at $77.27/bl.
- Yesterday, Brent prices fell 1.6% to settle at $77.52/bl, as weaker Chinese demand outweighed the impact of a blockade on oil production facilities in Libya.
- At 05:30 SAST today, gold prices declined 0.1% to trade at $2,495.26/oz. Yesterday, gold declined 0.2% to close at $2,497.26/oz, as a stronger greenback dented demand for the safe haven yellow metal.
- Yesterday, copper declined 1.7% to close at $9,057.17/mt. Aluminium closed 0.9% lower at $2,423.83/mt.
CURRENCIES
- Yesterday, the South African rand strengthened against the US dollar. In South Africa, the Absa manufacturing PMI dropped in August.
- The yield on benchmark bonds were unchanged yesterday. The yield on the SA 10-year generic bond stood at 10.60%, while that for SA 20-year generic bond stood at 11.28%
- At 05:30 SAST, the US dollar is trading 0.3% higher against the South African rand at R17.8742, while the euro is trading 0.1% higher at R19.7668. At 05:30 SAST, the British pound has gained 0.1% against the South African rand to trade at R23.4684.
- Yesterday, the euro advanced against most of the major currencies. In Germany, the HCOB manufacturing PMI fell less than market expected in August. In the eurozone, the HCOB manufacturing PMI remained unchanged in August. In the UK, the S&P Global manufacturing PMI rose in line with market expectations. Also, the BRC Like-For-Like retail sales climbed in August.
- At 05:30 SAST, the euro slipped 0.1% against the US dollar to trade at $1.106, while it has marginally gained against the British pound to trade at GBP0.8424.
ECONOMIC UPDATES
- In the UK, the S&P Global manufacturing PMI climbed to a level of 52.50 in August, in line with market expectations. The S&P Global manufacturing PMI had recorded a level of 52.10 in the previous month.
- In the UK, the BRC Like-For-Like retail sales rose 0.8% on a YoY basis in August, compared to a rise of 0.3% recorded in the previous month.
- In Switzerland, real retail sales unexpectedly rose 1.4% on a MoM basis in July, compared to a revised drop of 0.3% recorded in the previous month.
- In Switzerland, the SVME PMI climbed to a level of 49.00 in August, more than market expectations for a rise to a level of 44.00. The SVME PMI had recorded a level of 43.50 in the previous month.
- In Spain, the HCOB manufacturing PMI unexpectedly declined to a level of 50.50 in August, compared to a level of 51.00 recorded in the previous month.
- In Italy, the HCOB manufacturing PMI advanced more than expected to a level of 49.40 in August. The SVME PMI had recorded a level of 47.40 in the previous month.
- In Italy, gross domestic product (GDP) rose 0.2% on a QoQ basis in 2Q24, in line with market expectations and compared to a rise of 0.3% recorded in the previous quarter.
- In Italy, the producer price index (PPI) rose 1.3% on a MoM basis in July, compared to a rise of 0.7% recorded in the prior month.
- In France, the HCOB manufacturing PMI fell to a level of 43.90 in August, less than market expectations for a drop to a level of 42.10. The HCOB manufacturing PMI had recorded a level of 44.00 in the prior month.
- In Germany, the HCOB manufacturing PMI eased less than expected to a level of 42.40 in August, compared to a level of 43.20 recorded in the prior month.
- In the eurozone, the HCOB manufacturing PMI remained unchanged at a level of 45.80 in August, compared to market expectations for a drop to a level of 45.60.
CORPORATE UPDATES
SOUTH AFRICA
- Harmony Gold Mining Company Limited (JO:HARJ): The gold mining company, in its annual trading update for the period ended 30 June 2024, revealed that it expects basic EPS to be 77.6% to 77.9%, higher as compared with 780.00c recorded in the previous year. Also, it expects HEPS to be 131.5% to 131.6%, higher as compared 800.00c recorded in the prior year. Moreover, the company intends to release its final results on 5 September 2024.
- The Bidvest Group Limited (JO:BVTJ): The trading and distribution services company, in its FY24 results, reported that revenues advanced 6.7% from the preceding year to R122.62bn. Its diluted EPS stood at 1,869.00c, compared with 1,752.90c recorded in the previous year.
- Sibanye Stillwater Limited (JO:SSWJ): The gold mining company, in its 1H24 trading and production update, revealed that it expects to report a loss per share of between 250.80c to 277.20c, as compared with an EPS of 262.00c recorded in the previous year. This sharp decline is attributed to a major impairment charge of R7.50bn due to lower palladium price forecasts and a substantial drop in platinum group metal (PGM) prices. Also, it expects HEPS to be between 4.60c to 5.00c, as compared with 208.00c recorded in the previous year. Moreover, it reported solid performance in SA PGM operations (including attributable production from Mimosa and third-party purchase of concentrate (PoC)), with a production of 878,606 4Eoz, 4.0% higher than previous year. Furthermore, mined 2E production from the US PGM operations increased 16.0% to 238,139 2Eoz. Conversely, production from the SA managed gold operations (excluding DRDGOLD) declined by 21.0% to 8,248kg in FY24, due to the closure of the Kloof 4 shaft and increased seismic activity which restricted access to high-grade panels at the Kloof and Driefontein operations.
- MAS Plc (JO:MSPJ): The real estate investment trust company, in its FY24 results, reported that gross revenue increased to EUR95.79mn from EUR87.89mn posted in the previous year. Its diluted EPS rose 36.0% from the prior year to 17.73 Euro cents.
- RCL Foods Limited (JO:RCLJ): The food company, in its annual results, indicated that revenues from continuing operations rose to R26.01bn from R24.35bn posted in the previous year. Its diluted EPS increased to 181.90c as compared with the prior year.
- Weak Chinese data weighs on oil: Oil prices extended losses on the expectation for higher OPEC+ production starting in October and as signs of sluggish demand in China and the US, the world’s two largest oil consumers, raised concerns about future consumption growth.