South Africa Market Review
- South African markets closed in the red on Friday, amid losses in real estate and platinum mining sector stocks.
- Property developers, Emira Property Fund (JO:EMIJ), Shaftesbury Capital and NEPI Rockcastle N.V. (JO:NRPJ) dropped 6.1%, 2.1% and 1.3%, respectively.
- Platinum miners, Impala Platinum (JO:IMPJ), Anglo American Platinum (JO:AMSJ) and Northam Platinum (JO:NHMJ) declined 4.7%, 4.6% and 4.2%, respectively.
- Retailers, Cie Financiere Richemont S.A. (JO:CFRJ), Clicks Group (JO:CLSJ), SPAR Group (JO:SPPJ) and Shoprite Holdings (JO:SHPJ) shed 1.9%, 1.4%, 1.3% and 0.9%, respectively.
- Lenders, Capitec Bank Holdings (JO:CPIJ) and Nedbank Group (JO:NEDJ) fell 1.7% and 0.8%, respectively.
- On the flipside, diversified miners, Kumba Iron Ore (JO:KIOJ) and Exxaro Resources (JO:EXXJ) gained 1.2% and 0.9%, respectively.
- Pharmaceutical companies, Netcare (JO:NTCJ) and Adcock Ingram Holdings (JO:AIPJ) added 1.1% and 0.8%, respectively.
- The JSE All Share index declined 0.2% to close at 74,786.79.
UK Market Review
- The UK market finished firmer on Friday, boosted by gains in energy and mining sector stocks.
- Chemical company, Johnson Matthey (LON:JMAT) climbed 9.9%, after the investment arm of Standard Industries (NS:STDI) doubled its stake in the company to over 10%.
- Energy company, Shell (LON:RDSa) advanced 1.4%, after the company announced the sale of its home energy business in the UK and Germany to Octopus Energy Group.
- Peer, BP (LON:BP) gained 2.7%. Miners, Rio Tinto (LON:RIO), Antofagasta (LON:ANTO) and Glencore (JO:GLNJ) gained 2.1%, 1.6% and 1.4%, respectively.
- Banking firms, NatWest Group (LON:NWG), Barclays (LON:BARC) and HSBC Holdings (LON:HSBA) added 1.3%, 1.2% and 0.9%, respectively.
- On the other hand, water utilities companies, United Utilities Group (LON:UU) and Severn Trent (LON:SVT) declined 1.6% and 0.8%, respectively.
- The FTSE 100 index advanced 0.3% to close at 7,464.54.
US Market Review
- US markets ended mostly higher on Friday, as investors assessed more than expected rise in the US nonfarm payrolls data.
- Technology companies, Hewlett Packard (NYSE:HPE), Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) and Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) advanced 5.8%, 4.2% and 0.9%, respectively.
- On the other hand, retail company, Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) shed 7.4%. after the company announced that Chief Executive Rosalind Brewer would step down from his position.
- Semiconductor company, Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) declined 5.5%, after the company issued a dismal guidance for 4Q23. The S&P 500 index rose 0.2% to settle at 4,515.77, while the DJIA index advanced 0.3% to close at 38,837.71.
- The NASDAQ index marginally eased to end the trading session at 14,031.81.
Asia Market Review
- Asian markets are trading higher this morning, amid Chinese stimulus hopes.
- In Japan, transportation company, Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha (TYO:9107) has advanced 4.5%.
- On the flipside, banking company, Softbank Group (TYO:9984) has declined 1.1%.
- In Hong Kong, real estate company, Longfor Group Holdings (HK:0960) has gained 10.5%.
- On the other hand, pharmaceutical company, Hansoh Pharmaceutical (HK:3692) has eased 0.8%.
- In South Korea, media and broadcasting company, IHQ (KS:003560) has jumped 10.1%.
- On the contrary, electronic components, Uniquest Corporation (KS:077500) has dropped 4.7%.
- The Nikkei 225 index is trading 0.6% higher at 32,899.99.
- The Hang Seng index has advanced 2.7% to trade at 18,874.55, while the Kospi index is trading 0.3% higher at 2,572.08.
Commodities
- At 05:30 SAST today, Brent prices marginally fell to trade at $88.54/bl.
- On Friday, Brent prices rose 1.9% to settle at $88.55/bl, on supply concerns. Meanwhile, Baker Hughes reported that the US oil rig count remained unchanged at 512 in the week ended 1 September 2023.
- At 05:30 SAST today, gold prices advanced 0.4% to trade at $1,945.71/oz. On Friday, gold marginally declined to close at $1,938.80/oz.
- On Friday, copper rose 1.9% to close at $8,513.65/mt. Aluminium closed 1.2% higher at $2,238.59/mt.
Currencies
- On Friday, the South African rand strengthened against the US dollar. In South Africa, manufacturing activity improved in August. In the US, the ISM manufacturing PMI rose in August. Meanwhile, the S&P Global manufacturing PMI dropped in August.
- The yield on benchmark government bonds rose on Friday. The yield on 2030 bond rose to 10.30%. Further, the yield on the longer-dated 2040 issue rose to 12.43%.
- At 05:30 SAST, the US dollar is trading 0.5% lower against the South African rand at R18.7604, while the euro is trading 0.4% lower at R20.2360. At 05:30 SAST, the British pound has declined 0.3% against the South African rand to trade at R23.6454.
- On Friday, the euro mostly declined against most of the major currencies. In Germany, manufacturing PMI rose in line with expectations in August. In the eurozone, the HCOB manufacturing PMI rose less than expected in August, amid weaker demand and an accelerated depletion of backlogs.
- At 05:30 SAST, the euro advanced 0.1% against the US dollar to trade at $1.0787, while it has marginally weakened against the British pound to trade at GBP0.8560.
Economic Updates
- In the UK, the Nationwide house price index dropped 0.8% on a MoM basis in August, more than market expectations for a drop of 0.3%. The housing prices index had declined by a revised 0.3% in the previous month.
- In the UK, the S&P Global manufacturing PMI fell to a level of 43.00 in August, less than market expectations and compared to a level of 45.30 recorded in the previous month.
- In Switzerland, the consumer price index (CPI) rose 0.2% on a MoM basis in August, in line with market expectations. The CPI declined 0.1% in the previous month.
- In Switzerland, the SVME PMI rose less than expected to a level of 39.90 in August. The SVME PMI had recorded a level of 38.50 in the prior month.
- In Germany, the manufacturing PMI rose to a level of 39.10 in August, in line with market expectations. The HCOB manufacturing PMI had recorded a level of 38.80 in the previous month.
- In the eurozone, the HCOB manufacturing PMI advanced to a level of 43.50 in August, less than market expectations and compared to a level of 42.70 recorded in the previous month.
- In the US, nonfarm payrolls rose by 187.00K in August, more than market expectations and compared to a revised level of 157.00K jobs in the previous month.
- In the US, the unemployment rate rose to 3.8% in August, compared to 3.5% recorded in the previous month.
- In the US, the S&P Global manufacturing PMI dropped to a level of 47.90 in August, less than market expectations and compared to a level of 49.00 recorded in the previous month.
- In the US, the ISM manufacturing PMI rose to a level of 47.60 in August, more than market expectations for a rise to a level of 47.00. The ISM manufacturing PMI had recorded a level of 46.40 in the previous month.
- In Canada, gross domestic product (GDP) recorded a flat reading on a QoQ basis in 2Q23, compared to a revised rise of 0.6% in the previous quarter.
- In Canada, the S&P Global manufacturing PMI declined more than expected to a level of 48.00 in August, compared to a level of 49.60 recorded in the previous month.
Corporate Updates
South Africa
- Pan African Resources Limited (JO:PANJ): The mining company, in its trading update for the year ended 30 June 2023, revealed that it expects EPS to be between 3.00 US cents and 3.39 US cents, as compared with 3.90 US cents recorded in the previous year. Also, it expects HEPS to be between 2.95 US cents and 3.35 US cents, as compared with 3.90 US cents recorded in the previous year. Further, revenue in ZAR terms decreased by 0.2% only, as the 15% decrease in gold sold volumes previously announced was offset by a 17.5% increase in the average ZAR gold price received during the current financial year. Gross profit (in ZAR) decreased by 3.2%, and profit after tax decrease by 5.4%, compared to the previous financial year. Moreover, the company intends to release its annual results on 13 September 2023.
- Oil prices rise on expectations of tightening supplies: Oil benchmark Brent hovered above $87 a barrel as crude prices looked set to set to snap a two-week losing streak, buoyed by expectations of tightening supplies.