SOUTH AFRICA MARKET REVIEW
- South African markets closed in the green yesterday, as dovish comments from the US Federal Reserve (Fed) officials boosted investor morale.
- Platinum miners, Impala Platinum (JO:IMPJ), Anglo American Platinum (JO:AGLJ) and Northam Platinum (JO:NHMJ) jumped 7.5%, 5.9% and 5.1%, respectively.
- Gold miners, AngloGold Ashanti (JO:ANGJ) and Gold Fields (JO:GFIJ) climbed 7.0% and 5.7%, respectively.
- Financial services companies, Nedbank Group (JO:NEDJ), FirstRand (JO:FSRJ), Standard Bank Group (JO:SBKJ) and Capitec Bank Holdings (JO:CPIJ) advanced 5.1%, 3.9%, 3.3% and 3.2%, respectively.
- Retailers, Mr Price Group (JO:MRPJ), Shoprite Holdings (JO:SHPJ), Cie Financiere Richemont SA (JO:CFRJ) and Clicks Group (JO:CLSJ) gained 4.6%, 3.0%, 2.2% and 1.9%, respectively.
- Diversified miners, Anglo American (JO:AGLJ), Exxaro Resources (JO:EXXJ) and Kumba Iron Ore (JO:KIOJ) rose 4.5%, 2.4% and 1.9%, respectively.
- The JSE All Share index advanced 3.1% to close at 73,840.50.
UK MARKET REVIEW
- The UK market finished firmer yesterday, amid drop in the British bond yields following hopes that the Bank of England (BoE) would not hike interest rates further.
- Retailers, Ocado Group (LON:OCDO), JD Sports Fashion (LON:JD), Burberry Group (LON:BRBY) and Next (LON:NXT) gained 6.7%, 3.9%, 2.2% and 2.0%, respectively.
- Miners, Antofagasta (LON:ANTO), Glencore (LON:GLEN) (JO:GLNJ), Fresnillo (LON:FRES) and Rio Tinto (LON:RIO) climbed 4.5%, 3.4%, 3.0% and 2.4%, respectively.
- Real estate companies, Land Securities Group (LON:LAND), Barratt Developments (LON:BDEV) and Berkeley Group Holdings (LON:BKGH) advanced 3.7%, 2.7% and 1.7%, respectively.
- Banking firms, NatWest Group (LON:NWG), Barclays (LON:BARC), Lloyds Banking Group (LON:LLOY) and HSBC Holdings (LON:HSBA) added 3.2%, 3.1%, 3.0% and 2.0%, respectively.
- Insurance companies, Prudential (LON:PRU), Legal & General Group (LON:LGEN), Aviva (LON:AV) and Admiral Group (LON:ADML) rose 3.1%, 2.2%, 1.8% and 1.6%, respectively.
- The FTSE 100 index advanced 1.8% to close at 7,628.21.
US MARKET REVIEW
- US markets ended higher yesterday, as the US bond yields dropped following dovish comments from the US Fed.
- Media and Entertainment companies, Paramount Global (NASDAQ:PARA) and Warner Bros Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD) advanced 3.9% and 1.3%, respectively.
- Beverages company, PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) rose 1.9%, after the company reported upbeat earnings in 3Q23 and raised its annual forecast.
- Financial services companies, American Express (NYSE:AXP), Visa (NYSE:V) and Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) gained 1.4%, 0.9% and 0.7%, respectively.
- The S&P 500 index rose 0.5% to settle at 4,358.24, while the DJIA index advanced 0.4% to close at 33,739.30.
- NASDAQ index climbed 0.6% to end the trading session at 13,562.84.
ASIA MARKET REVIEW
- Asian markets are trading higher this morning, tracking overnight gains on Wall Street.
- In Japan, electronics company, Sharp Corporation (TYO:6753) has advanced 2.4%.
- On the flipside, steel manufacturing company, Nippon Steel Corporation (TYO:5401) has declined 2.1%.
- In Hong Kong, pharmaceutical company, CSPC Pharmaceutical (HK:1093) has climbed 4.7%.
- On the other hand, gaming and entertainment company, Galaxy Entertainment Group (HK:0027) has eased 0.9%.
- In South Korea, electronics company, Jahwa Electronics (KS:033240) has jumped 10.3%.
- On the contrary, automobile company, KR Motors (KS:000040) has dropped 6.3%.
- The Nikkei 225 index is trading 0.5% higher at 31,917.48.
- The Hang Seng index has advanced 1.5% to trade at 17,936.24, while the Kospi index is trading 2.5% higher at 2,462.62.
COMMODITIES
- At 05:30 SAST today, Brent prices rose 0.2% to trade at $87.86/bl, on prospects of supply disruption due to the Middle East tensions.
- Yesterday, Brent prices fell 0.6% to settle at $87.65/bl, amid ease in supply concerns.
- At 05:30 SAST today, gold prices marginally advanced to trade at $1,860.47/oz. Yesterday, gold marginally declined to close at $1,860.09/oz.
- Yesterday, copper declined 1.3% to close at $7,907.40/mt. Aluminium closed 0.7% lower at $2,222.51/mt.
CURRENCIES
- Yesterday, the South African rand strengthened against the US dollar. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) raised South Africa’s growth projections for 2023, amid fewer power cuts in 2Q23.
- The yield on benchmark government bonds fell yesterday. The yield on the 2030 bond declined to 10.79% while that for the longer-dated 2040 issue fell to 12.81%.
- At 05:30 SAST, the US dollar is trading 0.1% higher against the South African rand at R19.0366, while the euro is trading 0.1% higher at R20.1886. At 05:30 SAST, the British pound has gained 0.2% against the South African rand to trade at R23.3982.
- Yesterday, the euro declined against most of the major currencies.
- At 05:30 SAST, the euro marginally slipped against the US dollar to trade at $1.0606, while it has weakened 0.1% against the British pound to trade at GBP0.8628.
ECONOMIC UPDATES
- In Italy, seasonally adjusted industrial output rose 0.2% on a MoM basis in August, compared to a revised drop of 0.9% recorded in the previous month.
- In the US, the NFIB business optimism index declined to a level of 90.80 in September, more than market expectations for a fall to a level of 91.10. The NFIB business optimism index had recorded a level of 91.30 in the previous month.
CORPORATE UPDATES
SOUTH AFRICA
- Wilson Bayly Holmes – Ovcon Limited (JO:WBOJ): The construction company announced that Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Charles Victor Henwood has announced his decision to resign as CFO and director, effective 23 November 2023. Financial Director, Andrew Christopher Logan would join as an executive director in the capacity of CFO.
- Oil slips after 4% jump on turmoil in Israel: Oil prices eased after rallying more than 4% in the previous session, with traders cautious as they watched for potential supply disruptions amid military clashes between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas.