SOUTH AFRICA MARKET REVIEW
- South African markets closed in the red on Friday, led by losses in mining sector stocks.
- Diversified miner, African Rainbow Minerals (JO:ARIJ) dropped 2.9%, after the company reported a drop in its FY24 revenues.
- Retailers, Cie Financiere Richemont S.A. (JO:CFRJ), Pick ‘n Pay Stores (JO:PIKJ) and Shoprite Holdings (JO:SHPJ) declined 2.1%, 1.2% and 0.8%, respectively.
- Gold miners, Gold Fields (JO:GFIJ), Sibanye Stillwater (JO:SSWJ) and AngloGold Ashanti (JO:ANGJ) fell 2.0%, 1.5% and 0.8%, respectively.
- Platinum miners, Northam Platinum (JO:NPHJ) and Impala Platinum (JO:IMPJ) eased 1.6% and 1.3%, respectively.
- On the flipside, property developers, Emira Property fund (JO:EMIJ), Burstone Group (JO:BTNJ), Growthpoint Properties (JO:GRTJ) and Equites Property Fund (JO:EQUJ) advanced 4.8%, 3.3%, 2.6% and 2.5%, respectively.
- The JSE All Share index declined 1.0% to close at 81,364.89.
UK MARKET REVIEW
- UK markets finished weaker on Friday, weighed down by losses in personal goods and automobile sector stocks.
- Retailers, Burberry Group (LON:BRBY) and B&M European Value Retail SA (LON:BMEB) dropped 5.2% and 3.4%, respectively.
- Miners, Antofagasta (LON:ANTO), Glencore (LON:GLEN) and Rio Tinto (LON:RIO) declined 3.8%, 3.2% and 1.6%, respectively.
- Banking firms, Barclays (LON:BARC), NatWest Group (LON:NWG) and HSBC Holdings (LON:HSBA) fell 3.4%, 3.2% and 1.8%, respectively.
- Energy companies, Shell (LON:RDSa) and BP (LON:BP) eased 2.3% and 1.5%, respectively.
- On the other hand, water utilities companies, Severn Trent (LON:SVT) and United Utilities Group (LON:UU) advanced 1.5% and 1.1%, respectively.
- Pharmaceutical companies, AstraZeneca (LON:AZN) and GSK (LON:GSK) added 0.9% and 0.8%, respectively.
- The FTSE 100 index declined 0.7% to close at 8,181.47.
US MARKET REVIEW
- US markets ended lower on Friday, following dismal US nonfarm payrolls data.
- Semiconductor chip company, Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) plunged 10.4%, after the company forecasted lower revenue for FY24, amid sluggish spending in its broadband segment.
- Financial services companies, American Express (NYSE:AXP), JP Morgan Chase (NYSE:JPM) and Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) declined 3.1%, 2.4% and 1.7%, respectively.
- Technology companies, Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC), Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) and International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) fell 2.6%, 1.6% and 0.9%, respectively.
- Energy companies, Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG), Devon Energy Corporation (NYSE:DVN) and Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX) eased 2.3%, 1.8% and 1.7%, respectively.
- The S&P 500 index fell 1.7% to settle at 5,408.42, while the DJIA index declined 1.0% to close at 40,345.41.
- The NASDAQ index eased 2.6% to end the trading session at 16,690.83.
ASIA MARKET REVIEW
- Asian markets are trading lower this morning.
- In Japan, automobile company, Toyota Motor Corporation (TYO:7203) has shed 4.6%.
- On the flipside, chemical company, Mitsubishi chemical Group (TYO:4188) has gained 1.0%.
- In Hong Kong, real estate company, Longfor Group Holdings (HK:0960) has declined 4.5%.
- On the other hand, healthcare and retail pharmacy company, JD Health International (HK:6618) has added 0.9%.
- In South Korea, chemical company, Hannong Chemicals (KS:011500) has dropped 5.8%.
- On the contrary, pharmaceutical company, Samil Pharmaceutical (KS:000520) has advanced 6.3%.
- The Nikkei 225 index is trading 2.1% lower at 35,613.32.
- The Hang Seng index has declined 1.8% to trade at 17,131.67, while the Kospi index is trading 0.8% lower at 2,523.61.
COMMODITIES
- At 05:30 SAST today, Brent prices rose 1.4% to trade at $72.09/bl.
- On Friday, Brent prices fell 2.2% to settle at $71.06/bl, following dismal US nonfarm payrolls data. Moreover, the Baker Hughes reported that oil rigs count remained steady at 483 in the week ended 6 September 2024.
- At 05:30 SAST today, gold prices declined 0.7% to trade at $2,497.81/oz. On Friday, gold marginally gained to close at $2,516.36/oz.
- On Friday, copper rose 0.4% to close at $9,012.65/mt. Aluminium closed 1.7% lower at $2,340.35/mt.
CURRENCIES
- On Friday, the South African rand weakened against the US dollar. In the US, nonfarm payrolls advanced less than expected in August.
- The yield on benchmark bonds fell yesterday. The yield on the SA 10-year generic bond declined to 10.41%, while that for SA 20-year generic bond fell to 11.03%
- At 05:30 SAST, the US dollar is trading slightly lower against the South African rand at R17.8437, while the euro is trading 0.1% lower at R19.7727. At 05:30 SAST, the British pound has marginally declined against the South African rand to trade at R23.4351.
- On Friday, the euro mostly advanced against most of the major currencies. In the eurozone, gross domestic product (GDP) rose less than expected in 2Q24.
- At 05:30 SAST, the euro marginally slipped against the US dollar to trade at $1.1082, while it has weakened 0.1% against the British pound to trade at GBP0.8439.
ECONOMIC UPDATES
- In Germany, industrial production dropped 2.4% on a MoM basis in July, more than market expectations for a drop of 0.3%. Industrial production had recorded a revised rise of 1.7% in the previous month.
- In Germany, trade surplus narrowed to EUR16.80bn in July, compared to a surplus of EUR20.40bn recorded in the previous month.
- In Itay, retail sales rose 0.5% on a MoM basis in July, more than market expectations for a rise of 0.1%. Retail sales had recorded a drop of 0.2% in the previous month.
- In the eurozone, gross domestic product (GDP) rose 0.2% on a QoQ basis in 2Q24, less than market expectations for a rise of 0.3%. GDP had recorded a rise of 0.3% in the prior quarter.
- In the US, nonfarm payrolls advanced by 142.00K in August, less than market expectations for a rise of 160.00K. Nonfarm payrolls had recorded a revised reading of 89.00K in the previous month.
- In the US, the unemployment rate dropped to 4.2% in August, in line with market estimates and compared to 4.3% in the previous month.
- In Canada, the unemployment rate rose to 6.6% in August, more than market expectations for a rise to 6.5%. The unemployment rate stood at 6.4% in the previous month.
- In Canada, the Ivey PMI fell to a level of 48.20 in August, more than market expectations for a fall to a level of 55.50. The Ivey PMI had recorded a level of 57.60 in the previous month.
- In Japan, annualized GDP rose 2.9% in 2Q24, less than market expectations for a rise of 3.2%. GDP had advanced 3.2% in the previous quarter.
- In China, the consumer price index (CPI) rose 0.6% on a YoY basis in August, less than market expectations for a rise of 0.7%. The CPI had recorded a rise of 0.5% in the prior month.
- In China, the producer price index (PPI) dropped 1.8% on a YoY basis in August, more than market expectations for a drop of 1.4%. The PPI had recorded a drop of 0.8% in the prior month.
CORPORATE UPDATES
SOUTH AFRICA
- African Rainbow Minerals Limited (JO:ARIJ): The mining company, in its FY24 results, indicated that its revenue fell to R12.92bn from R16.10bn posted in the previous year. Its diluted EPS declined 61.0% to 1,603.00c from the prior year.
- Caxton (JO:CATJ) bullish about SA’s economic prospects: Printing and publishing group Caxton is bullish about SA’s economic prospects, saying it is well positioned to take advantage of an expected increase in consumer spending in this financial year.
- Probe finds no damning evidence against Ralph Mupita, MTN (JO:MTNJ) board says: The MTN board says it has found no evidence of improper conduct by CEO Ralph Mupita and another executive after an independent investigation.