SOUTH AFRICA MARKET REVIEW
- South African markets closed in the green yesterday, driven by gains in financial sector stocks.
- Food companies, Astral Foods (JO:ARLJ) and AVI (JO:AVIJ) jumped 7.2% and 2.8%, respectively.
- Insurance companies, Sanlam (JO:SLMJ), Discovery, Old Mutual (JO:OMUJ) and OUTsurance Group (JO:OUTJ) gained 4.6%, 4.0%, 3.1% and 2.7%, respectively.
- Banks, Capitec Bank Holdings (JO:CPIJ), Absa Group, FirstRand (JO:FSRJ), Standard Bank Group (JO:SBKJ) and Nedbank Group (JO:NEDJ) surged 4.6%, 3.9%, 3.8%, 3.7% and 3.3%, respectively.
- Retailers, Shoprite Holdings (JO:SHPJ), Mr Price Group (JO:MRPJ), Clicks Group (JO:CLSJ) and Pepkor Holdings (JO:PPHJ) advanced 3.3%, 2.7%, 2.6% and 2.5%, respectively.
- On the flipside, platinum miners, Northam Platinum Holdings (JO:NPHJ), Impala Platinum Holdings (JO:IMPJ) and Anglo American Platinum (JO:AMSJ) shed 4.7%, 2.2% and 1.0%, respectively.
- The JSE All Share index closed 1.4% higher at 77,746.23.
UK MARKET REVIEW
- The UK market finished weaker yesterday, impacted by declines in pharmaceutical and energy sector stocks.
- Pharmaceutical company, GSK (LON:GSK) plunged 9.5%, after a Delaware State Court ruling that allowed more than 70,000 lawsuits to proceed over the company’s discontinued heartburn drug Zantac.
- Meanwhile, Peers, Hikma Pharmaceuticals (LON:HIK) and AstraZeneca (LON:AZN) gained 1.5% and 1.3%, respectively.
- Equipment rental company, Ashtead Group (LON:AHT) shed 2.9%.
- Energy companies, BP (LON:BP) and Shell (LON:RDSa) decreased by 1.4% and 1.0%, respectively.
- Water utility companies, Severn Trent (LON:SVT) and United Utilities Group (LON:UU) declined 1.2% and 1.0%, respectively.
- On the contrary, retailers, JD Sports Fashion (LON:JD), Ocado Group (LON:OCDO), Burberry Group (LON:BRBY) and J Sainsbury (LON:SBRY) jumped 5.1%, 2.4%, 1.0% and 0.8%, respectively.
- The FTSE 100 indexeased 0.2% to close at 8,262.75.
US MARKET REVIEW
- US markets ended mostly in the green yesterday, boosted by technology sector stocks.
- Software company, Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) gained 4.9%, after CEO Jensen Huang announced that the company's next-generation AI chip platform would launch in 2026.
- Technology companies, Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) and Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) advanced 2.5% and 0.9%, respectively.
- Cruise companies, Norwegian Cruise Line (NYSE:NCLH) and Royal Caribbean Group (NYSE:RCL) gained 3.6% and 2.2%, respectively.
- On the other hand, financial services companies, American Express (NYSE:AXP) and Visa (NYSE:V) eased 1.3% and 0.8%, respectively.
- The S&P 500 index gained 0.1% to settle at 5,283.40, while the DJIA index eased 0.3% to close at 38,571.03.
- The NASDAQ index advanced 0.6% to end the trading session at 16,828.67.
ASIA MARKET REVIEW
- Asian markets are trading mostly lower this morning, as global investors assessed weaker US manufacturing activity.
- In Japan, energy company, Idemitsu Kosan (TYO:5019) has declined 3.2%.
- On the flipside, chemical company, Nissan Chemical (TYO:4021) Corporation has gained 3.7%.
- In Hong Kong, pharmaceutical company, CSPC Pharmaceutical Group (HK:1093) has added 3.0%.
- On the other hand, online healthcare company, JD Health International (HK:6618) has eased 1.0%.
- In South Korea, food manufacturing company, Samyang Foods has shed 6.5%.
- On the contrary, gas distribution company, Korea Gas Corporation has surged 15.2%.
- The Nikkei 225 index is trading 0.4% lower at 38,749.25.
- The Hang Seng indexhas advanced 0.4% to trade at 18,476.32, while the Kospi index is trading 0.4% lower at 2,670.91.
COMMODITIES
- At 05:30 SAST today, Brent prices fell 0.7% to trade at $77.83/bl, due to supply concerns later in 2024.
- Yesterday, Brent prices dropped 4.0% to $78.36/bl, on supply concerns after the OPEC+ allowed room for voluntary cuts from eight members to be gradually unwound from October onward.
- At 05:30 SAST today, gold prices declined 0.2% to trade at $2,345.28/oz. Yesterday, gold gained 1.0% to close at $2,350.35/oz, as a weaker dollar and falling US Treasury yields boosted demand for the safe haven yellow metal.
- Yesterday, copper rose 1.0% to close at $10,016.79/mt. Aluminium closed 2.0% lower at $2,661.50/mt.
CURRENCIES
- Yesterday, the South African rand strengthened against the US dollar. In South Africa, manufacturing activity fell in May, amid sluggish demand. In the US, manufacturing activity also declined for a second consecutive month in May, as new goods orders and spending on construction projects decreased.
- The yield on benchmark government bonds remained steady yesterday. The yield on the 2030 bond stood at 10.64%, while that for the longer-dated 2040 issue stood at 12.79%.
- At 05:30 SAST, the US dollar is trading 0.2% higher against the South African rand at R18.5521, while the euro is trading 0.2% higher at R20.2365. At 05:30 SAST, the British pound has gained 0.2% against the South African rand to trade at R23.7628.
- Yesterday, the euro mostly declined against most of the major currencies. In the eurozone, manufacturing activity increased in May, as production moved closer to stabilization and orders declined at a slower pace amid the rising business sentiment. In Germany, the manufacturing PMI rose in May.
- At 05:30 SAST, the euro marginally advanced against the US dollar to trade at $1.0909, while it has marginally gained against the British pound to trade at GBP0.8518.
ECONOMIC UPDATES
- In South Africa, the manufacturing PMI registered a drop to a level of 43.80. The manufacturing PMI had registered a reading of 54.00 in the prior month.
- In the UK, the BRC like-for-like retail sales climbed 0.4% on a YoY basis in May, compared to a drop of 4.4% recorded in the previous month.
- In Switzerland, the SVME manufacturing PMI registered a rise to a level of 46.40 in May, compared to a level of 41.40 in the previous month.
- In Spain, the manufacturing PMI climbed to a level of 54.00 in May. The manufacturing PMI had recorded a level of 52.20 in the prior month.
- In Italy, the manufacturing PMI eased to a level of 45.60 in May, compared to a level of 47.30 in the prior month.
- In France, the final manufacturing PMI advanced to a level of 46.40 in May, less than market expectations for a rise to a level of 46.70. The manufacturing PMI had registered a level of 45.30 in the prior month.
- In Germany, the final manufacturing PMI advanced to a level of 45.40 in May, compared to a level of 42.50 in the prior month. Markets were expecting manufacturing PMI to climb to a level of 45.40.
- In the eurozone, the final manufacturing PMI advanced to a level of 47.30 in May, compared to a level of 45.70 in the previous month. Market anticipations were for the manufacturing PMI to climb to a level of 47.40.
- In the UK, the final manufacturing PMI registered a rise to a level of 51.20 in May, less than market expectations and compared to a level of 49.10 in the prior month.
- In the US, the final Markit manufacturing PMI climbed to a level of 51.30 in May, compared to a level of 50.00 in the prior month. Market anticipations were for the Markit manufacturing PMI to climb to a level of 50.90.
- In the US, the ISM manufacturing activity index fell to a level of 48.70 in May. In the previous month, the ISM manufacturing activity index had registered a level of 49.20.
- In Canada, the manufacturing PMI eased to a level of 49.30 in May. In the prior month, the manufacturing PMI had registered a level of 49.40.
CORPORATE UPDATES
SOUTH AFRICA
- Fairvest Limited (JO:FTAJ): The real estate investment trust company, in its results for the six months ended 31 March 2024, indicated that revenue rose to R998.43mn from R951.59mn posted in the corresponding period of the previous year. Its diluted EPS for class A stood at 67.71c, compared with 23.33c recorded in the corresponding period of the previous year.
- Oil hardly changed as traders mull extension to OPEC+ cut: Oil prices were little changed on Monday, as investors weighed a move by producer group OPEC+ to extend deep output cuts well into 2025.