SOUTH AFRICA MARKET REVIEW
- South African markets closed in the red yesterday, ahead of US consumer inflation data due this week.
- Property developers, Vukile Property Fund (JO:VKEJ), Sirius Real Estate (JO:SREJ) and Equites Property Fund (JO:EQUJ) dropped 3.6%, 2.9% and 1.7%, respectively.
- Diversified miners, Kumba Iron Ore (JO:KIOJ), Exxaro Resources (JO:EXXJ) and Anglo American (JO:AGLJ) declined 3.0%, 1.7% and 1.6%, respectively.
- Retailers, Mr Price Group (JO:MRPJ), Cie Financiere Richemont S.A. (JO:CFRJ) and Shoprite Holdings (JO:SHPJ) shed 2.8%, 2.4% and 1.0%, respectively.
- Pharmaceutical companies, Life Healthcare Group (JO:LHCJ), Aspen Pharmacare (JO:APNJ) and Adcock Ingram Holdings (JO:AIPJ) fell 1.8%, 1.7% and 0.8%, respectively.
- On the flipside, telecommunications companies, Telkom SA SOC (JO:TKGJ) and Blue Label Telecoms (JO:BLUJ) advanced 1.3% and 1.2%, respectively.
- The JSE All Share index declined 0.9% to close at 76,188.16.
UK MARKET REVIEW
- The UK market finished weaker yesterday, amid political uncertainty in the Europe after French President Emmanuel Macron announced a snap parliamentary election.
- Insurance companies, Admiral Group (LON:ADML), Aviva (LON:AV), Prudential (LON:PRU) and Legal & General Group (LON:LGEN) dropped 2.7%, 1.7%, 1.5% and 1.2%, respectively.
- Paper and packaging companies, DS Smith Group (LON:SMDS), Smurfit Kappa (LON:SKG) and Mondi (LON:MNDI) declined 2.5%, 2.2% and 1.0%, respectively.
- Banking firms, NatWest (LON:NWG) group, Barclays (LON:BARC) and Lloyds Banking Group (LON:LLOY) shed 1.9%, 1.2% and 1.1%, respectively.
- Retailers, Ocado Group (LON:OCDO), Burberry Group (LON:BRBY) and JD Sports Fashion (LON:JD) fell 1.9%, 1.2% and 0.9%, respectively.
- On the other hand, energy companies, BP (LON:BP) and Shell (LON:RDSa) advanced 1.8% and 0.9%, respectively, tracking higher oil prices.
- The FTSE 100 index declined 0.2% to close at 8,228.48.
US MARKET REVIEW
- US markets ended higher yesterday, as investors await domestic consumer inflation data and the US Federal Reserve’s (Fed) policy meeting.
- Airlines company, Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) jumped 7.0%, after Elliott Investment Management acquires $1.90bn stake in the company.
- Automobile companies, General Motors (NYSE:GM) and Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F) advanced 4.1% and 1.9%, respectively.
- On the contrary, beverages companies, Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST), PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) and Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) dropped 3.2%, 3.0% and 0.5%, respectively.
- The S&P 500 index rose 0.3% to settle at 5,360.79, while the DJIA index advanced 0.2% to close at 38,868.04.
- The NASDAQ index climbed 0.3% to end the trading session at 17,192.53.
ASIA MARKET REVIEW
- Asian markets are trading mostly higher this morning.
- In Japan, pharmaceutical company, Chugai Pharmaceutical (TYO:4519) has advanced 2.5%.
- On the flipside, chemicals company, Mitsui Chemicals (TYO:4183) has declined 2.1%.
- In Hong Kong, real estate company, Hang Lung Properties (HK:0101) has shed 4.9%.
- On the other hand, consumer electronics company, Lenovo Group (HK:0992) has added 0.8%.
- In South Korea, chemicals company, Hannong Chemicals (KS:011500) has surged 9.7%.
- On the contrary, steel pipes company, Nexteel Company (KS:092790) has dropped 6.1%.
- The Nikkei 225 index is trading 0.3% higher at 39,155.16.
- The Hang Seng index has declined 1.8% to trade at 18,037.20, while the Kospi index is trading 0.4% higher at 2,712.49.
COMMODITIES
- At 05:30 SAST today, Brent prices fell 0.3% to trade at $81.42/bl.
- Yesterday, Brent prices rose 2.5% to settle at $81.63/bl, buoyed by optimism surrounding growth in fuel demand.
- At 05:30 SAST today, gold prices declined 0.3% to trade at $2,302.80/oz. Yesterday, gold gained 0.8% to close at $2,310.05/oz, as investors await US inflation data and the US Fed's decision on interest rates due this week.
- Yesterday, copper declined 1.5% to close at $9,694.40/mt. Aluminium closed 0.2% lower at $2,571.85/mt.
CURRENCIES
- Yesterday, the South African rand strengthened against the US dollar.
- The yield on benchmark government bonds remained unchanged yesterday. The yield on the 2030 bond stood at 10.48%, while that for the longer-dated 2040 issue stood at 12.70%.
- At 05:30 SAST, the US dollar is trading 0.2% higher against the South African rand at R18.7609, while the euro is trading 0.3% higher at R20.2028. At 05:30 SAST, the British pound has gained 0.2% against the South African rand to trade at R23.8899.
- Yesterday, the euro declined against most of the major currencies. In the eurozone, the Sentix investor confidence index rose in June to its highest since early 2022.
- At 05:30 SAST, the euro marginally advanced against the US dollar to trade at $1.0771, while it has marginally gained against the British pound to trade at GBP0.8459.
ECONOMIC UPDATES
- In Italy, seasonally adjusted industrial output unexpectedly dropped 1.0% on a MoM basis in April, compared to a drop of 0.5% recorded in the previous month.
- In the eurozone, the Sentix investor confidence index rose to a level of 0.30 in June, compared to a level of -3.60 recorded in the previous month.
CORPORATE UPDATES
SOUTH AFRICA
- Oceana Group Limited (JO:OCEJ): The fishing and food processing company, in its 1H24 results, indicated that revenue rose to R5.04bn from R4.50bn posted in the corresponding period of the previous year. Its diluted EPS increased 98.6% from the same period of the prior year to 585.90c.
- Alexander Forbes Group Holdings Limited (JO:AFHJ): The financial services company, in its FY24 results, reported that fee and commission revenue advanced 12.7% from the preceding year to R5.06bn. Its diluted EPS stood at 52.30c, compared with 53.50c recorded in the previous year.
- Omnia Holdings Limited (JO:OMNJ): The agriculture products company, in its annual results for the year ended 31 March 2024, stated that revenue decreased to R22.22bn from R26.57bn posted in the previous year. Its diluted EPS rose 0.6% from the prior year to 696.00c.
- Oil inches higher on hope for summer driving demand: Oil prices edged up on the hope of rising fuel demand this northern summer, despite being weighed down by a firmer dollar, as the expectation of interest rate cuts were pushed out further after strong US jobs data.