SOUTH AFRICA MARKET REVIEW
- South African markets closed in the green yesterday, ahead of major central bank meetings due this week.
- Platinum miners, Northam Platinum (JO:NPHJ) and Anglo-American Platinum (JO:AMSJ) advanced 4.1% and 1.9%, respectively.
- Pharmaceutical companies, Adcock Ingram Holdings (JO:AIPJ) and Aspen Pharmacare (JO:APNJ) gained 2.4% and 1.1%, respectively.
- Insurance companies, Discovery (JO:DSYJ), Sanlam (JO:SLMJ) and Old Mutual (JO:OMUJ) rose 1.8%, 1.1% and 1.0%, respectively.
- On the flipside, diversified miners, Anglo American (JO:AGLJ), Kumba Iron Ore (JO:KIOJ) and Pan African Resources (JO:PANJ) dropped 4.2%, 2.6% and 2.4%, respectively.
- Property developers, Growthpoint Properties (JO:GRTJ), Redefine Properties (JO:RDFJ) and Resilient REIT (JO:RESJ) shed 1.9%, 1.6% and 1.0%, respectively.
- Retailers, Foschini Group (JO:TFGJ), Mr Price Group (JO:MRPJ) and SPAR Group (JO:SPPJ) eased 1.5%, 1.0% and 0.7%, respectively.
- The JSE All Share index advanced 0.1% to close at 73,892.31.
UK MARKET REVIEW
- The UK market finished weaker yesterday, weighed down by losses in mining sector stocks and as investors focus on major central bank meetings.
- Miners, Glencore (LON:GLEN) (JO:GLNJ), Rio Tinto (LON:RIO) and Fresnillo (LON:FRES) dropped 4.0%, 1.8% and 0.8%, respectively.
- Energy utilities companies, Centrica (LON:CNA) and SSE (LON:SSE) shed 3.8% and 1.7%, respectively.
- Banking firms, Standard Chartered (LON:STAN) and NatWest Group (LON:NWG) eased 2.0% and 0.7%, respectively.
- On the other hand, retailers, JD Sports Fashion (LON:JD), Next (LON:NXT), J Sainsbury (LON:SBRY) and Ocado Group (LON:OCDO) advanced 3.4%, 1.8%, 1.4% and 0.8%, respectively.
- Real estate companies, Land Securities Group (LON:LAND) and Barratt Developments (LON:BDEV) gained 1.6% and 1.0%, respectively.
- The FTSE 100 index declined 0.1% to close at 7,544.89.
US MARKET REVIEW
- US markets ended higher yesterday, as investors await key inflation data and the US Federal Reserve's (Fed) policy meeting for cues on interest rates.
- Retailer, Macy’s (NYSE:M) soared 21.3%, after the company received a $5.80bn buyout offer from Arkhouse Management and Brigade Capital.
- Healthcare company, Cigna Corporation (NYSE:CI) surged 16.7%.
- The company called off its merger with Humana (NYSE:HUM).
- Technology companies, Intel (NASDAQ:INTC), International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) and Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) advanced 1.3%, 1.0% and 0.9%, respectively.
- The S&P 500 index rose 0.4% to settle at 4,622.44, while the DJIA index advanced 0.4% to close at 36,404.93.
- The NASDAQ index climbed 0.2% to end the trading session at 14,432.49.
ASIA MARKET REVIEW
- Asian markets are trading higher this morning, tracking overnight gains on Wall Street and ahead of the US key inflation report.
- In Japan, food company, Nichirei Corporation (TYO:2871) has advanced 2.7%.
- On the flipside, chemical company, Sumitomo Chemical (TYO:4005) has declined 2.0%.
- In Hong Kong, pharmaceutical companies, Hansoh Pharmaceutical Group (HK:3692) has jumped 6.0%.
- On the other hand, insurance companies, AIA Group (HK:1299) has shed 2.1%.
- In South Korea, wind turbines company, CS Wind Corporation (KS:112610) has surged 10.4%.
- On the contrary, construction company, Bumyang Construction (KS:002410) has dropped 5.8%.
- The Nikkei 225 indexis trading 0.6% higher at 32,983.37.
- The Hang Seng index is trading 0.9% higher at 16,341.45, while the Kospi index is trading 0.3% higher at 2,533.12.
COMMODITIES
- At 05:30 SAST today, Brent prices rose 0.3% to trade at $76.28/bl.
- Yesterday, Brent prices rose 0.3% to settle at $76.03/bl, after the OPEC+ announced further production cuts.
- At 05:30 SAST today, gold prices advanced 0.2% to trade at $1,984.82/oz. Yesterday, gold declined 1.1% to close at $1,981.30/oz, as a stronger dollar dented demand for the safe haven yellow metal.
- Yesterday, copper declined 0.9% to close at $8,275.25/mt. Aluminium closed 0.4% lower at $2,124.80/mt.
CURRENCIES
- Yesterday, the South African rand weakened against the US dollar.
- The yield on benchmark government bonds rose yesterday. The yield on the 2030 bond advanced to 10.14% while that for the longer-dated 2040 issue rose to 12.44%.
- At 05:30 SAST, the US dollar is trading 0.2% lower against the South African rand at R19.0487, while the euro is trading 0.2% lower at R20.5118. At 05:30 SAST, the British pound has marginally declined against the South African rand to trade at R23.9555.
- Yesterday, the euro mostly advanced against most of the major currencies. In the UK, the Rightmove house price index declined in December.
- At 05:30 SAST, the euro marginally slipped against the US dollar to trade at $1.0767, while it has weakened 0.1% against the British pound to trade at GBP0.8564.
ECONOMIC UPDATES
- In the UK, the Rightmove house price index dropped 1.9% on a MoM basis in December, compared to a drop of 1.7% recorded in the previous month.
- In Japan, the producer price index (PPI) rose 0.3% on a YoY basis in November, more than market expectations and compared to a rise of 0.8% recorded in the prior month.
- In Australia, the Westpac consumer confidence index rose 2.7% in December, compared to a drop of 2.6% recorded in the previous month.
- In Australia, the NAB business confidence index fell to a level of -9.00 in November, compared to a revised level of -3.00 recorded in the previous month.
CORPORATE UPDATES
SOUTH AFRICA
- RMB Holdings Limited (JO:RMHJ): The banking company, in its trading update for the six months ended 30 September 2023, revealed that it expects net asset value (NAV) per share to be between 95.00c to 115.00c, as compared with 238.60c recorded in the corresponding previous year.
- Oil keeps gaining as US boosts strategic reserve: Oil prices inched higher, extending gains for a second session as US efforts to replenish strategic reserves provided some support, though concerns of crude oversupply and softer fuel demand growth next year lingered.