South Africa Market Review
- South African markets closed in the green on Friday, boosted by gains in mining sector stocks.
- Miners, Exxaro Resources (JO:EXXJ), Kumba Iron Ore (JO:KIOJ) and Pan African Resources (JO:PANJ) advanced 3.2%, 1.8% and 1.0%, respectively.
- Retailers, Cashbuild (JO:CSBJ), Mr Price Group (JO:MRPJ) and SPAR Group (JO:SPPJ) gained 2.4%, 1.8% and 1.0%, respectively.
- Property developers, Emira Property Fund (JO:EMIJ), Redefine Properties (JO:RDFJ) and Growthpoint Properties (JO:GRTJ) rose 1.6%, 0.9% and 0.7%, respectively.
- Lenders, Standard Bank (JO:SBKJ), Nedbank (JO:NEDJ) and FirstRand (JO:FSRJ) increased 1.2%, 1.1% and 0.8%, respectively.
- On the flipside, telecommunications company, Telkom SA SOC (JO:TKGJ) shed 6.7%, after the company rejected an offer led by its former CEO, Sipho Maseko to buy a substantial stake in the company.
- The JSE All Share index advanced 1.0% to close at 74,823.02.
UK Market Review
- The UK market finished weaker on Friday, amid concerns over the possibility of further rates hikes.
- Water utilities companies, Severn Trent (LON:SVT) and United Utilities Group (LON:UU) dropped 2.3% and 1.7%, respectively.
- Pharmaceutical companies, AstraZeneca (LON:AZN) and GSK (LON:GSK) shed 2.1% and 1.6%, respectively.
- Energy utilities companies, National Grid (LON:NG) and SSE (LON:SSE) declined 2.0% and 1.5%, respectively.
- On the other hand, retailers, Ocado Group (LON:OCDO), JD Sports Fashion (LON:JD) and Next (LON:NXT) climbed 7.0%, 2.2% and 1.2%, respectively.
- Miners Antofagasta (LON:ANTO), Fresnillo (LON:FRES) and Glencore (JO:GLNJ) advanced 1.7%, 1.1% and 0.8%, respectively.
- Banking firms, Barclays (LON:BARC) and Standard Chartered (LON:STAN) added 1.4% and 0.8%, respectively.
- The FTSE 100 index declined 0.3% to close at 7,256.94.
US Market Review
- US markets ended lower on Friday, as investors assessed weaker than expected jobs growth in the country.
- Clothing company, Levi Strauss & Company (NYSE:LEVI) edged down 7.7%, after the company slashed its annual profit outlook amid inventory backlog.
- Pharmaceutical companies, Biogen (NASDAQ:BIIB) and Merck & Company (NYSE:MRK) declined 3.5% and 2.5%, respectively.
- On the contrary, electric vehicle company, Rivian Automotive (NASDAQ:RIVN) surged 14.3%, after the company reported better than expected EV deliveries in 2Q23.
- Financial services companies, JPMorgan Chase & Company (NYSE:JPM) and Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) added 0.8% and 0.7%, respectively.
- The S&P 500 index fell 0.3% to settle at 4,398.95, while the DJIA index declined 0.6% to close at 33,734.88.
- The NASDAQ index eased 0.1% to end the trading session at 13,660.72.
Asia Market Review
- Asian markets are trading mostly lower this morning, following dismal Chinese economic data.
- In Japan, consumer electronics company, Panasonic Holdings (TYO:6752) has declined 2.0%.
- On the flipside, banking company, Chiba Bank (TYO:8331) has gained 1.4%.
- In Hong Kong, e-commerce company, Alibaba Group Holding (HK:9988) (NYSE:BABA) has advanced 3.7%.
- On the other hand, real estate company, Longfor Group Holdings (HK:0960) has dropped 1.5%.
- In South Korea, pharmaceutical company JW Pharmaceutical (KS:001065) has gained 10.3%.
- On the contrary, chemical company, Cosmo Chemical (KS:005420) has shed 5.9%.
- The Nikkei 225 index is trading 0.7% lower at 32,173.88.
- The Hang Seng index has advanced 0.9% to trade at 18,531.06, while the Kospi index is trading 0.1% lower at 2,523.14.
Commodities
- At 05:30 SAST today, Brent prices fell 0.6% to trade at $78.01/bl.
- On Friday, Brent prices rose 2.5% to settle at $78.47/bl, amid weaker dollar and supply concerns. Additionally, Baker Hughes reported that the US oil rigs count fell by 5 to 540 in the week ended 7 July 2023.
- At 05:30 SAST today, gold prices declined 0% to trade at $1,923.65/oz. On Friday, gold gained 0.7% to close at $1,924.28/oz, as a weaker greenback and a drop in the US Treasury yields boosted demand for the safe haven yellow metal.
- On Friday, copper rose 0.2% to close at $8,298.15/mt. Aluminium closed 0.7% higher at $2,143.56/mt.
Currencies
- On Friday, the South African rand strengthened against the US dollar. In the US, non-farm payrolls rose less than expected in June. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate dropped in June.
- The yield on benchmark government bonds rose on Friday. The yield on 2026 bond rose to 9.40%. Further, the yield on the longer-dated 2030 issue rose to 10.77%.
- At 05:30 SAST, the US dollar is trading 0.2% higher against the South African rand at R18.9116, while the euro is trading 0.1% higher at R20.7182. At 05:30 SAST, the British pound has marginally gained against the South African rand to trade at R24.2317.
- On Friday, the euro mostly declined against most of the major currencies. In the UK, the Halifax house price index declined at its fastest pace in twelve years in June, amid drop in demand.
- At 05:30 SAST, the euro slipped 0.1% against the US dollar to trade at $1.0955, while it has gained 0.1% against the British pound to trade at GBP0.8551.
Economic Updates
- In the UK, the Halifax house prices dropped 0.1% on a MoM basis in June, compared to a revised drop of 0.2% recorded in the previous month.
- In Germany, seasonally adjusted industrial production unexpectedly dropped 0.2% on a MoM basis in May, compared to a rise of 0.3% recorded in the previous month.
- In Italy, retail sales rose 0.7% on a MoM basis in May, more than market expectations for a rise of 0.1%. Retail sales had recorded a rise of 0.2% in the previous month.
- In France, trade deficit narrowed to EUR8.42bn in May, more than market expectations and compared to a revised deficit of EUR10.56bn in the prior month.
- In the US, non-farm payrolls advanced by 209.00K in June, less than market expectations. In the previous month, non-farm payrolls had recorded a revised level of 306.00K.
- In the US, the unemployment rate dropped to 3.6% in June, compared to 3.7% recorded in the previous month.
- In Canada, the Ivey Purchasing Managers’ Index dropped to a level of 50.20 in June, more than market expectations for a drop to a level of 51.50. The Ivey Purchasing Managers’ Index had recorded a level of 53.50 in the previous month.
- In Canada, the unemployment rate rose to 5.4% in June, more than market expectations and compared to 5.2% in the previous month.
- In Japan, trade deficit (BOP) widened to JPY1,186.70bn in May, compared to a deficit of JPY113.10bn recorded in the prior month.
- In China, the consumer price index (CPI) recorded a flat reading on a YoY basis in June, compared to a rise of 0.2% in the prior month.
- In China, the producer price index (PPI) dropped 5.4% on a YoY basis in June, compared to a drop of 4.6% recorded in the prior month.
Corporate Updates
South Africa
- Hostile takeover may be on the cards after Telkom (JO:TKGJ) rejects Maseko offer: Telkom’s share price plunged 7.0% after the news that the state-affiliated fixed-line operator rejected a takeover bid by former CEO Sipho Maseko and Mauritius-based telecom company Axian Telecom.
- FNB owner fails in bid to block Abu Dhabi’s FAB trademark: FirstRand (JO:FSRJ), SA’s biggest banking group by market capitalisation, has tried and failed to bar Abu Dhabi’s leading banks from using the FAB trademark, which it says resembles that of its FNB subsidiary.