SOUTH AFRICA MARKET REVIEW
- South African markets closed in the red yesterday, led by losses in property and banking sector stocks.
- Property Developers, Delta Property Fund (JO:DLTJ), Growthpoint Properties (JO:GRTJ) and Shaftesbury Capital edged down 10.0%, 2.0% and 1.5%, respectively.
- Lenders, FirstRand (JO:FSRJ), Capitec Bank Holdings (JO:CPIJ), Nedbank Group (JO:NEDJ) and Standard Bank Group (JO:SBKJ) declined 2.7%, 1.3%, 1.0% and 0.9%, respectively.
- Pharmaceutical companies, Life Healthcare Group (JO:LHCJ), Netcare (JO:NTCJ) and Aspen Pharmacare (JO:APNJ) shed 2.2%, 0.8% and 0.7%, respectively.
- On the flipside, diversified miners, Kumba Iron Ore (JO:KIOJ), Exxaro Resources (JO:EXXJ) and Merafe Resources (JO:MRFJ) advanced 2.8%, 2.4% and 1.7%, respectively.
- Retailers, SPAR Group (JO:SPPJ) and Pick ‘n Pay Stores (JO:PIKJ) gained 2.0% and 1.5%, respectively.
- The JSE All Share index declined 0.6% to close at 73,390.81.
UK MARKET REVIEW
- The UK market finished firmer yesterday, boosted by gains in energy sector stocks.
- Energy companies, BP (LON:BP) and Shell (LON:RDSa) advanced 3.0% and 1.3%, on higher crude oil prices.
- Pharmaceutical companies, Hikma Pharmaceuticals (LON:HIK) and AstraZeneca (LON:AZN) gained 2.0% and 1.6%, respectively.
- On the other hand, miners, Fresnillo (LON:FRES) and Antofagasta (LON:ANTO) shed 3.2% and 2.3%, respectively.
- Banking firm, Barclays (LON:BARC) declined 3.1%.
- Real estate companies, Lan Securities Group (LON:LAND) and Barratt Developments (LON:BDEV) eased 1.5% and 1.0%, respectively.
- The FTSE 100 index advanced 0.3% to close at 7,644.78.
US MARKET REVIEW
- US markets ended lower yesterday, amid surge in the US Treasury yields and following US inflation data.
- Airlines company, Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) shed 2.3%, even after the company reported better than expected 3Q23 profit and signalled continued rise in demand for travel.
- Automobile company, Ford Motor (NYSE:F) dropped 2.0%, after the United Auto Workers (UAW) union expanded its strike and said 8,700 workers had walked out of a truck-making factory in Louisville, Kentucky.
- On the contrary, industrial supplies company, Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) surged 7.5%, after the company reported higher profit in 3Q23.
- The S&P 500 index fell 0.6% to settle at 4,349.61, while the DJIA index declined 0.5% to close at 33,631.14.
- The NASDAQ index eased 0.6% to end the trading session at 13,574.22.
ASIA MARKET REVIEW
- Asian markets are trading weaker this morning, tracking overnight losses on Wall Street.
- In Japan, automobile company, Nissan Motor (TYO:7201) has declined 2.9%.
- On the flipside, retail company, Fast Retailing (TYO:9983) has advanced 5.6%.
- In Hong Kong, internet technology company, NetEase (NASDAQ:NTES) has dropped 3.8%.
- On the other hand, pharmaceutical company, Hansoh Pharmaceutical (HK:3692) has gained 2.9%.
- In South Korea, automotive parts company, KR Motors (KS:000040) has shed 5.7%.
- On the contrary, pharmaceutical company, Kwang Dong Pharmaceutical (KS:009290) has jumped 13.1%.
- The Nikkei 225 index is trading 0.4% lower at 32,356.76.
- The Hang Seng index has eased 2.0% to trade at 17,873.14, while the Kospi index is trading 0.8% lower at 2,459.04.
COMMODITIES
- At 05:30 SAST today, Brent prices rose 0.6% to trade at $86.51/bl, as US sanctions against Russian crude exports raised supply concerns.
- Yesterday, Brent prices rose 0.2% to settle at $86/bl, amid supply concerns. Meanwhile, the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported that the US crude inventories advanced by 10.18mn bls in the week ended 6 October 2023.
- At 05:30 SAST today, gold prices advanced 0.2% to trade at $1,873.59/oz. Yesterday, gold declined 0.2% to close at $1,870.66/oz, as a stronger dollar and a rise in the US Treasury yields dented demand for the safe haven yellow metal.
- Yesterday, copper rose 0.6% to close at $7,994.65/mt. Aluminium closed 0.8% lower at $2,199.85/mt.
CURRENCIES
- Yesterday, the South African rand weakened against the US dollar. In South Africa, the SACCI business confidence index dropped in September. In the US, the consumer price index (CPI) rose more than expected in September. Meanwhile, the number of people filing for initial jobless claims remained unchanged in the week ended 6 October 2023.
- The yield on benchmark government bonds fell yesterday. The yield on the 2030 bond declined to 10.67% while that for the longer-dated 2040 issue fell to 12.75%.
- At 05:30 SAST, the US dollar is trading 0.1% lower against the South African rand at R18.9962, while the euro is trading 0.5% higher at R20.1318. At 05:30 SAST, the British pound has gained 0.1% against the South African rand to trade at R23.1839.
- Yesterday, the euro mostly advanced against most of the major currencies. In the UK, the gross domestic product (GDP) improved in August, driven by growth in the services sector.
- At 05:30 SAST, the euro advanced 0.1% against the US dollar to trade at $1.0545, while it has weakened 0.1% against the British pound to trade at GBP0.8641.
ECONOMIC UPDATES
- In South Africa, the business confidence index fell to a level of 108.20 in September, less than market expectations and compared to a level of 108.60 recorded in the prior month.
- In South Africa, manufacturing production rose 0.5% on a MoM basis in August, compared to a revised drop of 1.7% recorded in the previous month.
- In South Africa, mining production rose 0.8% on a MoM basis in August, compared to a fall of 1.7% recorded in the previous month.
- In the UK, goods trade deficit widened to GBP15.95bn in August, compared to a revised deficit of GBP13.91bn recorded in the prior month.
- In the UK, gross domestic product (GDP) rose 0.2% on a MoM basis in August, in line with market expectations. GDP had declined 0.6% in the prior month.
- In the UK, industrial production dropped 0.7% on a MoM basis in August, more than market expectations and compared to a revised fall of 1.1% in the previous month.
- In the UK, manufacturing production dropped 0.8% on a MoM basis in August, more than market expectations for a drop of 0.4%. Manufacturing production had recorded a revised drop of 1.2% in the previous month.
- In the US, the consumer price index (CPI) rose 0.4% on a MoM basis in September, more than market expectations for a rise of 0.3%. The CPI had advanced 0.6% in the prior month.
- In the US, initial jobless claims unexpectedly remained unchanged at a level of 209.00K in the week ended 6 October 2023, compared to market expectations for a rise to a level of 210.00K.
CORPORATE UPDATES
SOUTH AFRICA
- PSG Financial Services Limited (JO:KSTJ): The financial services company announced the appointment of Edward Gibbens as Chief Executive of PSG Distribution replacing Dan Hugo, with effect from 2 April 2024.
- Northam Platinum (JO:NHMJ) shares get boost from JPMorgan upgrade: After gaining as much at 11.6% in early trade, Northam Platinum added R2.00bn to its market cap after JPMorgan Chase upgraded the mid-tier platinum group metals (PGM) player to overweight from neutral and set a price target well above what it trades at now.