South Africa Market Review
- South African markets closed in the red yesterday, amid losses in property sector stocks and as investors await key US inflation data.
- Property developers, Attacq (JO:ATTJ), Emira Property Fund (JO:EMIJ), Shaftesbury Capital and Growthpoint Properties (JO:GRTJ) shed 5.9%, 5.2%, 2.7% and 0.9%, respectively.
- Food companies, RCL Foods (JO:RCLJ) and Tiger Brands (JO:TBSJ) edged down 5.7% and 1.4%, respectively.
- Platinum miners, Northam Platinum (JO:NHMJ), Impala Platinum (JO:IMPJ) and Anglo American Platinum (JO:AMSJ) declined 3.8%, 2.3% and 1.6%, respectively.
- Diversified miners, Exxaro Resources (JO:EXXJ), Kumba Iron Ore (JO:KIOJ) and Anglo American (JO:AGLJ) fell 1.8%, 1.2% and 0.7%, respectively.
- Lenders, Standard Bank Group (JO:SBKJ), FirstRand (JO:FSRJ) and Nedbank Group (JO:NEDJ) eased 1.3%, 1.2% and 1.1%, respectively.
- On the flipside, retailers, Cashbuild (JO:CSBJ) and Clicks Group (JO:CLSJ) added 0.6% and 0.5%, respectively.
- The JSE All Share index declined 0.6% to close at 74,345.98.
UK Market Review
- The UK market finished firmer yesterday, led by gains in utilities sector stocks.
- Water Utilities companies, Severn Trent (LON:SVT) and United Utilities Group (LON:UU) advanced 1.6% and 1.0%, respectively, after Thames Water secured GBP750.00mn ($960.00mn) financial aid from its investors.
- Insurance companies, Admiral Group (LON:ADML) and Legal & General Group (LON:LGEN) gained 1.9% and 0.8%, respectively.
- Travel and Leisure companies, International Consolidated Airlines Group S.A. (LON:ICAG) and InterContinental Hotels Group (LON:IHG) rose 1.8% and 1.2%, respectively.
- On the other hand, mining companies, Rio Tinto (LON:RIO), Glencore (LON:GLEN) and Fresnillo (LON:FRES) eased 1.0%, 0.7% and 0.5%, respectively, as weaker Chinese economic data that renewed demand concerns.
- The FTSE 100 index advanced 0.2% to close at 7,273.79.
US Market Review
- US markets ended higher yesterday, ahead of key inflation data and domestic earnings reports.
- Investment company, Icahn Enterprise (NASDAQ:IEP) surged 20.2%, after the company announced that Carl Icahn and his lenders have finalised amended loan agreements that untie Carl’s personal loans from the trading price of his firm.
- Technology companies, Intel (NASDAQ:INTC), Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) and Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) advanced 2.8%, 1.5% and 0.8%, respectively.
- Financial services companies, American Express (NYSE:AXP) and Visa (NYSE:V) added 1.1% and 0.7%, respectively.
- The S&P 500 index rose 0.2% to settle at 4,409.53, while the DJIA index advanced 0.6% to close at 33,944.40.
- The NASDAQ index climbed 0.2% to end the trading session at 13,685.48.
Asia Market Review
- Asian markets are trading higher this morning, as investors assessed dovish comments from US Federal Reserve (Fed) officials.
- In Japan, automobile company, Mitsubishi Motors (TYO:7211) Corporation has advanced 4.1%.
- On the flipside, automobile company, Toyota Motor (TYO:7203) Corporation has declined 1.6%.
- In Hong Kong, consumer electronics company Xiaomi Corporation (HK:1810) has gained 1.7%.
- On the other hand, pharmaceutical company Hansoh Pharmaceutical (HK:3692) has shed 1.1%. In South Korea, electronics company, Samwha Electronics had surged 12.6%.
- On the contrary, chemical company, Aekyung Chemical (KS:161000) has dropped 5.0%.
- The Nikkei 225 index is trading 0.3% higher at 32,279.88.
- The Hang Seng index has advanced 1.7% to trade at 18,792.27, while the Kospi index is trading 1.4% higher at 2,555.49.
Commodities
- At 05:30 SAST today, Brent prices rose 0.6% to trade at $78.12/bl, on supply cuts and weaker dollar.
- Yesterday, Brent prices fell 1.0% to settle at $77.69/bl, on possibility of further interest rate hikes by the US Fed.
- At 05:30 SAST today, gold prices advanced 0.1% to trade at $1,926.60/oz. Yesterday, gold marginally gained to close at $1,924.99/oz, as a weaker dollar boosted demand for the safe haven yellow metal.
- Yesterday, copper declined 0.1% to close at $8,285.85/mt. Aluminium closed 0.2% higher at $2,146.85/mt.
Currencies
- Yesterday, the South African rand strengthened against the US dollar.
- The yield on benchmark government bonds rose yesterday. The yield on 2026 bond rose to 9.42%. Further, the yield on the longer-dated 2030 issue rose to 10.81%.
- At 05:30 SAST, the US dollar is trading 0.1% lower against the South African rand at R18.7746, while the euro is trading marginally lower at R20.6744. At 05:30 SAST, the British pound has marginally declined against the South African rand to trade at R24.1637.
- Yesterday, the euro mostly advanced against most of the major currencies. In the eurozone, the Sentix investor sentiment declined for a third straight month in July.
- At 05:30 SAST, the euro advanced 0.1% against the US dollar to trade at $1.1014, while it has marginally gained against the British pound to trade at GBP0.8558.
Economic Updates
- In the UK, the BRC like-for-like retail sales rose 4.2% on a YoY basis in June, less than market expectations and compared to a rise of 3.7% recorded in the previous month.
- In the eurozone, the Sentix investor confidence index dropped to a level of -22.50 in July, compared to a level of -17.00 recorded in the previous month.
- In Canada, building permits rose 10.5% on a MoM basis in May, more than market expectations for a rise of 9.6%. Building permits had recorded a revised drop of 21.0% in the prior month.
- In Australia, the Westpac consumer confidence index rose 2.7% in July, in line with market expectations and compared to a rise of 0.2% recorded in the previous month.
Corporate Updates
South Africa
- Bell Equipment CEO quits after five years at helm: Earth-moving equipment supplier Bell said that its CEO Leon Goosen has resigned after five years in the top job to pursue other interests.