S& P 500 hits all time highs U.S.-Japan trade deal optimism
SOUTH AFRICA MARKET REVIEW
- South African markets closed in the red yesterday, ahead of the US consumer inflation data.
- Pharmaceutical companies, Life Healthcare (JO:LHCJ), Netcare (JO:NTCJ) and Adcock Ingram Holdings (JO:AIPJ) dropped 3.5%, 3.4% and 0.9%, respectively.
- Property developers, Resilient REIT (JO:RESJ), Equites Property Fund (JO:EQUJ) and Attacq (JO:ATTJ) declined 2.3%, 1.5% and 1.4%, respectively.
- Insurance companies, Old Mutual (JO:OMUJ) Holdings, Sanlam (JO:SLMJ) and Discovery shed 1.9%, 1.0% and 0.8%, respectively.
- Lenders, Standard Bank Group (JO:SBKJ), Absa Group (JO:ABGJ) and Nedbank Group (JO:NEDJ) fell 1.5%, 1.1% and 0.5%, respectively.
- On the flipside, gold miners, AngloGold Ashanti (JO:ANGJ), Sibanye Stillwater (JO:SSWJ) and Gold Fields (JO:GFIJ) advanced 2.2%, 1.5% and 1.3%, respectively.
- The JSE All Share index declined 0.2% to close at 80,445.31.
UK MARKET REVIEW
The UK market finished firmer yesterday, boosted by gains in mining sector stocks.
Miners, Fresnillo (LON:FRES) and Glencore (LON:GLEN) advanced 3.8% and 0.6%, respectively.
Travel and leisure companies, International Consolidate Airlines Group S.A. (LON:ICAG) and InterContinental Hotels Group (LON:IHG) gained 3.0% and 1.3%, respectively.
Insurance companies, Prudential (LON:PRU), Aviva (LON:AV), Legal & General Group (LON:LGEN) and Admiral Group (LON:ADML) rose 2.8%, 1.6%, 1.4% and 1.2%, respectively.
Retailers, J Sainsbury (LON:SBRY), Marks & Spencer Group (LON:MKS) and Tesco (LON:TSCO) increased 2.5%, 2.3% and 0.7%, respectively.
Water utilities companies, United Utilities Group (LON:UU) and Severn Trent (LON:SVT) added 2.3% and 2.1%, respectively.
The FTSE 100 index advanced 0.7% to close at 8,193.51.
US MARKET REVIEW
- US markets ended higher yesterday, boosted by gains in technology sector stocks ahead of domestic inflation and corporate earnings data.
- Semiconductor companies, ON Semiconductor (NASDAQ:ON), Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) and Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:AMD) advanced 4.2%, 4.0% and 3.9%, respectively.
- Technology companies, Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) and Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) gained 1.9%, 1.5% and 0.8%, respectively.
- Energy companies, Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX) and Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) rose 1.4% and 0.9%, respectively.
- On the contrary, financial services company, Intuit (NASDAQ:INTU) dropped 2.6%, after the company announced plans to lay off about 10% of its workforce.
- The S&P 500 index rose 1.0% to settle at 5,633.91, while the DJIA index advanced 1.1% to close at 39,721.36.
- The NASDAQ index climbed 1.2% to end the trading session at 18,647.45.
ASIA MARKET REVIEW
- Asian markets are trading higher this morning, tracking overnight gains on Wall Street on rate cut bets.
- In Japan, chemical company, Sumitomo Chemical (TYO:4005) has advanced 3.3%.
- On the flipside, transportation company, Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha (TYO:9107) has declined 1.1%.
- In Hong Kong, automobile company, Li Auto (NASDAQ:LI) has jumped 5.8%.
- On the other hand, travel company, Trip.com (HK:9961) has eased 0.9%. In South Korea, pharmaceutical company, Daewon Pharmaceutical (KS:003220) has surged 8.8%.
- On the contrary, automotive parts company, Wooshin Systems (KS:017370) has shed 4.2%.
- The Nikkei 225 index is trading 0.8% higher at 42,179.84.
- The Hang Seng index has advanced 1.5% to trade at 17,726.18, while the Kospi index is trading 0.7% higher at 2,886.89.
COMMODITIES
- At 05:30 SAST today, Brent prices rose 0.8% to trade at $85.76/bl.
- Yesterday, Brent prices rose 0.5% to settle at $85.08/bl, following a larger than expected decline in US crude inventories. The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported that the US crude inventories fell by 3.44mn bls in the week ended 5 July 2024.
- At 05:30 SAST today, gold prices advanced 0.3% to trade at $2,378.40/oz. Yesterday, gold gained 0.3% to close at $2,371.07/oz, as investors await the US inflation data.
- Yesterday, copper declined 0.7% to close at $9,695.50/mt. Aluminium closed 1.7% lower at $2,483.80/mt.
CURRENCIES
- Yesterday, the South African rand weakened against the US dollar. In the US, the number of mortgage applications declined for a third consecutive week.
- The yield on benchmark government bonds declined yesterday. The yield on the 2030 bond fell to 9.67%, while that for the longer-dated 2040 issue dropped to 11.67%.
- At 05:30 SAST, the US dollar is trading 0.1% lower against the South African rand at R18.1099, while the euro is trading slightly lower at R19.6252. At 05:30 SAST, the British pound has marginally gained against the South African rand to trade at R23.2914.
- Yesterday, the euro mostly declined against most of the major currencies.
- At 05:30 SAST, the euro advanced 0.1% against the US dollar to trade at $1.0838, while it has marginally weakened against the British pound to trade at GBP0.8429.
ECONOMIC UPDATES
- In the UK, the RICS housing price balance dropped 17.0% in June, more than market expectations for a drop of 15.0%. The RICS housing price balance had recorded a drop of 17.0% in the prior month.
- In Italy, seasonally adjusted industrial production rose 0.5% on a MoM basis in May, less than market expectations for a rise of 1.0%. Industrial production had recorded a drop of 1.0% in the prior month.
- In the US, the MBA mortgage applications fell 0.2% in the week ended 5 July 2024, compared to a drop of 2.6% recorded in the previous week.
CORPORATE UPDATES
SOUTH AFRICA
- Tharisa Plc (JO:THAJ): The mining company, in its 3Q24 production update, revealed that 6E PGM production increased 4.5% to 36.90koz. Chrome concentrate production increased 1.9% to 410.20kt. Total reef mined increased 21.9% as the benefits of increased stripping provides the necessary in-pit flexibility, with tonnage at 1,261.9 kt (2Q24: 1,035.0 kt)For FY24, the company expects production to be between 145.00koz and 155.00koz PGMs (6E basis) and 1.70Mt to 1.80Mt of chrome concentrates.
- Oil falls after Chinese inflation data is weaker than expected: Oil prices dipped after inflation in top crude importer China came in weaker than expected, while traders weighed the rising possibility of a ceasefire deal in Gaza as negotiations are set to resume later in the day.
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