SOUTH AFRICA MARKET REVIEW
- South African markets closed in the green yesterday, boosted by gains in mining sector stocks.
- Platinum miners, Anglo American Platinum (JO:AMSJ), Impala Platinum (JO:IMPJ) and Northam Platinum (JO:NPHJ) jumped 6.1%, 4.8% and 4.1%, respectively.
- Diversified miners, African Rainbow Minerals (JO:ARIJ), Pan African Resources (JO:PANJ) and Anglo American (JO:AGLJ) advanced 5.2%, 2.8% and 2.0%, respectively.
- Gold miners, Harmony Gold Mining (JO:HARJ), Gold Fields (JO:GFIJ) and AngloGold Ashanti (JO:ANGJ) gained 3.8%, 2.7% and 2.2%, respectively.
- On the flipside, property developers, Shaftesbury Capital, Attacq (JO:ATTJ) and Hammerson (LON:HMSO) dropped 3.3%, 2.2% and 2.0%, respectively.
- Retailers, Cashbuild (JO:CSBJ), Shoprite Holdings (JO:SHPJ) and Mr Price Group (JO:MRPJ) declined 3.0%, 2.2% and 1.8%, respectively.
- The JSE All Share index advanced 0.6% to close at 73,293.69.
UK MARKET REVIEW
- The UK market finished firmer yesterday, buoyed by gains in aerospace sector stocks.
- Aerospace company, Melrose Industries (LON:MRON) advanced 3.5%, after the company’s GKN (LON:GKN) Aerospace Engines business expanded its partnership with GE Aerospace.
- Banking firms, Standard Chartered (LON:STAN), NatWest Group (LON:NWG) and HSBC Holdings (LON:HSBA) gained 2.1%, 1.5% and 1.2%, respectively.
- On the other hand, real estate companies, Land Securities Group (LON:LAND) and Berkeley Group (LON:BKGH) Holdings dropped 3.2% and 0.9%, respectively.
- Retailers, Ocado Group (LON:OCDO), Next (LON:NXT) and J Sainsbury (LON:SBRY) declined 2.3%, 1.7% and 1.5%, respectively.
- Water utility companies, Severn Trent (LON:SVT) and United Utilities Group (LON:UU) shed 1.5% and 1.3%, respectively.
- The FTSE 100 index marginally advanced to close at 7,417.76.
US MARKET REVIEW
- US markets ended higher yesterday, as investors await further comments from the US Federal Reserve policymakers.
- Energy companies, Constellation Energy (NASDAQ:CEG) and Dominion Energy (NYSE:D) advanced 6.5% and 4.5%, respectively.
- Technology companies, Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) and International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) gained 1.5%, 1.1% and 0.7%, respectively.
- On the contrary, media and entertainment companies, Paramount Global (NASDAQ:PARA), Warner Bros Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD) and Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) dropped 7.8%, 2.7% and 1.2%, respectively.
- Online dating company, Bumble (NASDAQ:BMBL) shed 4.4%, after the company announced that its founder Whitney Wolfe Herd would step down as Chief Executive Officer (CEO).
- The S&P 500 index rose 0.2% to settle at 4,365.98, while the DJIA index advanced 0.1% to close at 34,095.86.
- The NASDAQ index climbed 0.3% to end the trading session at 13,518.78.
ASIA MARKET REVIEW
- Asian markets are trading lower this morning.
- In Japan, food company, Kikkoman Corporation (TYO:2801) has shed 3.5%.
- On the flipside, automobile company, Nissan Motor (TYO:7201) has gained 1.1%.
- In Hong Kong, insurance company, Ping An Insurance (HK:2318) has dropped 4.0%.
- On the other hand, consumer electronics company, Xiaomi Corporation (HK:1810) has advanced 1.0%.
- In South Korea, chemical company, ISU Specialty Chemical (KS:457190) has plunged 11.5%.
- On the contrary, dental products company, EcoVive (KS:015540) has surged 11.1%.
- The Nikkei 225 indexis trading 1.0% lower at 32,394.86.
- The Hang Seng index has declined 1.4% to trade at 17,715.32, while the Kospi index is trading 3.1% lower at 2,423.80.
COMMODITIES
- At 05:30 SAST today, Brent prices fell 0.4% to trade at $84.85/bl.
- Yesterday, Brent prices rose 0.3% to settle at $85.18/bl, after Saudi Arabia and Russia announced that they would continue with their voluntary oil supply cuts until the end of the year.
- At 05:30 SAST today, gold prices declined 0.2% to trade at $1,973.17/oz. Yesterday, gold declined 0.7% to close at $1,977.68/oz, as a rise in the US Treasury yields dented demand for the safe haven yellow metal.
- Yesterday, copper rose 0.8% to close at $8,136.25/mt. Aluminium closed 1.5% higher at $2,287.25/mt.
CURRENCIES
- Yesterday, the South African rand weakened against the US dollar.
- The yield on benchmark government bonds rose yesterday. The yield on the 2030 bond advanced to 10.40% while that for the longer-dated 2040 issue rose to 12.47%.
- At 05:30 SAST, the US dollar is trading 0.3% higher against the South African rand at R18.3457, while the euro is trading 0.2% higher at R19.6477. At 05:30 SAST, the British pound has gained 0.2% against the South African rand to trade at R22.6351.
- Yesterday, the euro mostly advanced against most of the major currencies. In Germany, factory orders unexpectedly advanced in September. Meanwhile, the HCOB services PMI declined in October. In the eurozone, the HCOB services PMI declined in October, amid weaker demand in service industry. Meanwhile, the Sentix investor sentiment index improved in November.
- At 05:30 SAST, the euro slipped 0.1% against the US dollar to trade at $1.0711, while it has marginally weakened against the British pound to trade at GBP0.8681.
ECONOMIC UPDATES
- In the UK, the S&P Global construction PMI unexpectedly climbed to a level of 45.60 in October, compared to a level of 45.00 recorded in the previous month.
- In the UK, the BRC like-for-like retail sales rose 2.6% on a YoY basis in October, more than market expectations for a rise of 2.4%. The BRC like-for-like retail sales had advanced 2.8% in the prior month.
- In Italy, the HCOB services PMI declined to a level of 47.70 in October, more than market expectations for a drop to a level of 48.50. The services PMI had recorded a level of 49.90 in the previous month.
- In France, the HCOB services PMI rose to a level of 45.20 in October, less than market expectations and compared to a level of 44.40 recorded in the previous month.
- In Germany, seasonally adjusted factory orders unexpectedly rose 0.2% on a MoM basis in September, compared to a rise of 3.9% recorded in the previous month.
- In Germany, the HCOB services PMI dropped to a level of 48.20 in October, less than market expectations for a drop to a level of 48.00. The services PMI had recorded a level of 50.30 in the prior month.
- In the eurozone, the HCOB services PMI fell to a level of 47.80 in October, in line with market expectations. The HCOB services PMI had recorded a level of 48.70 in the previous month.
- In the eurozone, the Sentix investor confidence index rose to a level of -18.60 in November, compared to a level of -21.90 recorded in the previous month.
- In Canada, seasonally adjusted Ivey Purchasing Manager’s Index rose to a level of 53.40 in October, less than market expectations for a rise to a level of 54.00. The Ivey PMI had recorded a level of 53.10 in the previous month.
- In China, trade surplus narrowed to $56.53bn in October, compared to a surplus of $77.71bn posted in the previous month.
- The Reserve Bank of Australia raised its key interest rate by 25 basis points to 4.35%, in line with market expectations.
CORPORATE UPDATES
SOUTH AFRICA
- AECI Limited (JO:AFEJ): The chemicals company, in its trading update for the nine months ended 30 September 2023, indicated that its total recordable incident rate (TRIR) stood at 0.23 compared to 0.15 recorded as at 31 December 2022. Moreover, group revenue increased to R27.65bn from R25.14bn recorded in the previous year.
- Redefine Properties Limited (JO:RDFJ): The real estate investment trust company, in its FY23 results, announced that total revenue rose to R9.91bn from R8.24bn posted in the previous year. Its diluted EPS stood at 21.37c, compared with 141.12c recorded in the previous year.
- Oil lifts as exporters press on with supply cuts: Oil prices rose after top exporters Saudi Arabia and Russia reaffirmed their commitment to extra voluntary oil supply cuts until the end of 2023.