SOUTH AFRICA MARKET REVIEW
- South African markets closed in the red yesterday, amid weaker banking and mining sector stocks.
- Banks, FirstRand (JO:FSRJ), Standard Bank Group (JO:SBKJ), Nedbank Group (JO:NEDJ) and Capitec Bank Holdings (JO:CPIJ) dropped 4.1%, 2.3%, 2.1% and 1.8%, respectively.
- Platinum miners, Anglo American Platinum (JO:AMSJ) and Impala Platinum (JO:IMPJ) both declined 2.4%.
- Diversified miners, Exxaro Resources (JO:EXXJ) and Anglo American Resources both shed 1.4%.
- On the flipside, retailers, Pick ‘n Pay Stores (JO:PIKJ) and Cashbuild (JO:CSBJ) advanced 3.0% and 1.8%, respectively.
- Property developers, Attacq (JO:ATTJ), Hammerson (LON:HMSO) and Emira Property Fund (JO:EMIJ) gained 2.1%, 1.5% and 1.1%, respectively.
- Telecommunications companies, Blue Label Telecoms (JO:BLUJ) and Telkom SA SOC (JO:TKGJ) rose 1.3% and 0.9%, respectively.
- The JSE All Share index declined 0.8% to close at 73,675.75.
UK MARKET REVIEW
- The UK market finished weaker yesterday, amid dismal corporate earnings forecasts.
- Retailers, Burberry Group (LON:BRBY), Ocado Group (LON:OCDO), B&M European Value Retail S.A. (LON:BMEB) and JD Sports Fashion (LON:JD) dropped 5.7%, 5.1%, 2.5% and 1.0%, respectively.
- Banking firms, Lloyds Banking Group (LON:LLOY), HSBC Holdings (LON:HSBA) and Standard Chartered (LON:STAN) declined 2.6%, 2.3% and 1.4%, respectively.
- Defence companies, Rolls Royce Holdings (LON:RR) and BAE Systems (LON:BAES) shed 1.6% and 1.0%, respectively.
- Miners, Fresnillo (LON:FRES), Rio Tinto (LON:RIO) and Glencore (JO:GLNJ) fell 1.2%, 0.8% and 0.7%, respectively.
- On the other hand, insurance companies, Admiral Group (LON:ADML) and Aviva (LON:AV) advanced 1.7% and 1.1%, respectively.
- The FTSE 100 index declined 0.4% to close at 7,594.91.
US MARKET REVIEW
- US markets were closed yesterday on account of a public holiday.
- On Friday, the S&P 500 index rose 0.1% to settle at 4,783.83, while the DJIA index declined 0.3% to close at 37,572.98.
- The NASDAQ index marginally climbed to end the trading session at 14,972.76.
ASIA MARKET REVIEW
- Asian markets are trading lower this morning, amid concerns over rate outlook.
- In Japan, consumer electronics company, Hitachi (TYO:6501) has declined 2.1%.
- On the flipside, electric services company, Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings (TYO:9501) has advanced 2.0%.
- In Hong Kong, real estate company, Longfor Group Holdings (HK:0960) has dropped 2.3%.
- On the other hand, travel and tourism company, Trip.com (HK:9961) has gained 1.7%.
- In South Korea, logistics company, Dongbang Transport Logistics (KS:004140) has plunged 9.1%.
- On the contrary, pharmaceutical company, Hanmi Science (KS:008930) has surged 10.3%.
- The Nikkei 225 index is trading 0.3% lower at 35,792.06.
- The Hang Seng index has declined 1.0% to trade at 16,058.44, while the Kospi index is trading 0.6% lower at 2,511.34.
COMMODITIES
- At 05:30 SAST today, Brent prices fell 0.2% to trade at $77.97/bl.
- Yesterday, Brent prices fell 0.2% to settle at $78.15/bl, amid profit booking.
- At 05:30 SAST today, gold prices declined 0.2% to trade at $2,050.39/oz. Yesterday, gold gained 0.3% to close at $2,054.49/oz, as escalating geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and rate cut bets boosted demand for the safe haven yellow metal.
- Yesterday, copper declined 0.2% to close at $8,284.15/mt. Aluminium closed 0.7% lower at $2,204.33/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 9.73%, while that for the longer-dated 2040 issue rose to 12.16%.
- At 05:30 SAST, the US dollar is trading 0.3% higher against the South African rand at R18.7451, while the euro is trading 0.1% higher at R20.4798. At 05:30 SAST, the British pound has marginally gained against the South African rand to trade at R23.7844.
- Yesterday, the euro advanced against most of the major currencies. In the eurozone, industrial production declined for a third consecutive month in November.
- At 05:30 SAST, the euro slipped 0.2% against the US dollar to trade at $1.0926, while it has gained 0.1% against the British pound to trade at GBP0.8611.
ECONOMIC UPDATES
- In Italy, global trade surplus narrowed to EUR3.89bn in November, compared to a revised surplus of EUR4.73bn recorded in the previous month.
- In the eurozone, industrial production declined 0.3% on a MoM basis in November, in line with market expectations. Industrial production had declined 0.7% in the prior month.
- In the eurozone, trade surplus widened to GBP14.80bn in November, compared to a revised surplus of EUR11.10bn recorded in the previous month.
- In Canada, manufacturing sales rose 1.2% on a MoM basis in November, compared to a revised drop of 2.9% in October.
- In Japan, the producer price index (PPI) recorded a flat reading on a YoY basis in December, compared to a rise of 0.3% recorded in the prior month.
- In New Zealand, the NZIER Business Confidence dropped 2.0% on a QoQ basis in 4Q23, compared to a drop of 52.0% recorded in the prior quarter.
- In Australia, the Westpac Consumer Confidence index dropped 1.3% in January, compared to a rise of 2.7% recorded in the previous month.
CORPORATE UPDATES
SOUTH AFRICA
- Northam Platinum Holdings Limited (JO:NPHJ): The platinum mining company, in its 1H23 voluntary trading update, revealed that total equivalent refined metal production from own operations increased 10.6% as compared with the previous year. Moreover, its total production (including purchased material) increased 19.9% as compared with the previous year.
- Metair Investments Limited (JO:MTAJ): The investment company announced the appointment of Mr Paul O’Flaherty as the new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and as a member of the company’s social and ethics committee, with effect from 1 February 2024.
- Oil dips on profit taking after last week’s strong gains: Oil prices dipped as the Middle East conflict’s limited impact on crude output prompted profit taking after oil benchmarks gained 2.0% last week.