SOUTH AFRICA MARKET REVIEW
- South African markets closed in the green on Friday, buoyed by gains in retail sector stocks.
- Retailers, Pick ‘n Pay Stores (JO:PIKJ), Cashbuild (JO:CSBJ), Mr Price Group (JO:MRPJ) and Clicks Group (JO:CLSJ) advanced 4.9%, 4.0%, 1.2% and 1.0%, respectively.
- Diversified miners, Exxaro Resources (JO:EXXJ), Anglo American and Kumba Iron Ore (JO:KIOJ) gained 2.6%, 2.4% and 2.0%, respectively.
- Lenders, Standard Bank Group (JO:SBKJ), Nedbank Group (JO:NEDJ), FirstRand (JO:FSRJ) and Capitec Bank Holdings (JO:CPIJ) rose 2.4%, 2.2%, 1.5% and 1.4%, respectively.
- On the flipside, property developers, Attacq (JO:ATTJ), Emira Property Fund (JO:EMIJ), Redefine Properties (JO:RDFJ) and Growthpoint Properties (JO:GRTJ) dropped 5.7%, 2.8%, 2.0% and 1.4%, respectively.
- Gold miners, Gold Fields (JO:GFIJ), Harmony Gold Mining (JO:HARJ) and AngloGold Ashanti (JO:ANGJ) declined 1.8%, 1.1% and 0.9%, respectively.
- The JSE All Share index advanced 0.5% to close at 73,616.06.
UK MARKET REVIEW
- The UK market finished firmer on Friday, boosted by gains in banks and miners.
- Banking firm, NatWest Group (LON:NWG) surged 7.1%, after the company reported higher profits in FY23 and also confirmed Paul Thwaite as its permanent Chief Executive Officer (CEO).
- Peers, Lloyds Banking Group (LON:LLOY), Barclays (LON:BARC) and HSBC Holdings (LON:HSBA) advanced 3.9%, 2.3% and 2.0%, respectively.
- Miners, Antofagasta (LON:ANTO). Rio Tinto (LON:RIO), Glencore (LON:GLEN) and Fresnillo (LON:FRES) gained 5.7%, 3.5%, 2.2% and 1.8%, respectively.
- Retailers, Marks & Spencer Group (LON:MKS), JD Sports Fashion (LON:JD) and Burberry Group (LON:BRBY) rose 2.3%, 2.1% and 1.9%, respectively.
- Warehousing company, Segro (LON:SGRO) added 1.9%, after the company reported better than expected annual profits amid robust rental growth.
- The FTSE 100 index advanced 1.5% to close at 7,711.71.
US MARKET REVIEW
- US markets ended lower on Friday, after stronger than expected producer price inflation offset hopes for early rate cuts.
- Technology companies, Adobe (NASDAQ:ADBE), Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO), Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) and Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) dropped 7.4%, 1.3%, 1.2% and 0.8%, respectively.
- Media and entertainment companies, Paramount Global (NASDAQ:PARA), Warner Bros Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD) and Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) declined 4.7%, 3.1% and 1.6%, respectively.
- On the contrary, semiconductor equipment company, Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) jumped 6.4%, after the company forecasted higher revenue for 2Q24, citing strong demand for advanced chips used in AI.
- The S&P 500 index fell 0.5% to settle at 5,005.57, while the DJIA index declined 0.4% to close at 38,627.99.
- The NASDAQ index eased 0.8% to end the trading session at 15,775.65.
ASIA MARKET REVIEW
- Asian markets are trading mostly lower this morning.
- In Japan, tires and rubber products company, Bridgestone Corporation (TYO:5108) has declined 2.1%.
- On the flipside, pharmaceutical company, Sumitomo Pharma (TYO:4506) has advanced 3.6%.
- In Hong Kong, restaurant company, Haidilao International Holding (TYO:9984) has shed 5.1%.
- On the other hand, infrastructure company, CK Infrastructure Holdings (HK:1038) has gained 1.9%.
- In South Korea, banking company, Jeju Bank (KS:006220) has surged 11.3%.
- On the contrary, electronics company, Samwha Electronics (KS:009470) has dropped 4.5%.
- The Nikkei 225 index is trading 0.3% lower at 38,365.59.
- The Hang Seng index is trading 0.7% lower at 16,222.37, while the Kospi index is trading 1.0% higher at 2,674.64.
COMMODITIES
- At 05:30 SAST today, Brent prices fell 0.6% to trade at $82.95/bl.
- On Friday, Brent prices rose 0.7% to settle at $83.47/bl, amid concerns surrounding ongoing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East. Moreover, the Baker Hughes reported that the US oil rigs counts fell by 2 to 497 in the week ended 16 February 2024.
- At 05:30 SAST today, gold prices advanced 0.4% to trade at $2,021.55/oz. On Friday, gold gained 0.4% to close at $2,013.10/oz, as a weaker dollar boosted demand for the safe haven yellow metal.
- On Friday, copper rose 2.1% to close at $8,321.15/mt. Aluminium closed 0.3% lower at $2,217.35/mt.
CURRENCIES
- On Friday, the South African rand strengthened against the US dollar. In the US, the producer price index (PPI) rose more than expected in January. Moreover, the Michigan consumer sentiment index rose in February. Meanwhile, housing starts and building permits, both declined in January.
- The yield on benchmark government bonds were mixed on Friday. The yield on the 2030 bond advanced to 10.10%. while that for the longer-dated 2040 issue remained unchanged at 12.39%.
- At 05:30 SAST, the US dollar is trading slightly higher against the South African rand at R18.8863, while the euro is trading marginally higher at R20.3629. At 05:30 SAST, the British pound has gained 0.1% against the South African rand to trade at R23.8273.
- On Friday, the euro mostly advanced against most of the major currencies.
- At 05:30 SAST, the euro marginally advanced against the US dollar to trade at $1.0782, while it has weakened 0.1% against the British pound to trade at GBP0.8546.
ECONOMIC UPDATES
- In the UK, retail sales rose 3.4% on a MoM basis in January, more than market expectations for a rise of 1.5%. Retail sales had recorded a revised drop of 3.3% in the previous month.
- In the UK, the Rightmove house price index rose 0.9% on a MoM basis in February, compared to an advance of 1.3% recorded in the previous month.
- In Switzerland, industrial production dropped 0.4% on a YoY basis in 4Q23, compared to a revised rise of 1.8% recorded in the previous month.
- In the US, building permits declined 1.5% on a MoM basis in January, compared to a revised rise of 1.8% recorded in the prior month.
- In the US, housing starts dropped 14.8% on a MoM basis in January, compared to a revised rise of 3.3% recorded in the previous month.
- In the US, the producer price index (PPI) rose 0.3% on a MoM basis in January, more than market expectations and compared to a revised fall of 0.1% recorded in the prior month.
- In the US, the Michigan consumer sentiment index rose to a level of 79.60 in February, less than market expectations for a rise to a level of 80.00. The Michigan consumer sentiment index had recorded a level of 79.00 in the previous month.
CORPORATE UPDATES
SOUTH AFRICA
- Oil prices fall as lower demand offsets Middle East tension: Oil slipped as a forecast of slowing demand by the International Energy Agency (IEA) offset support from geopolitical tension and hopes that the US Federal Reserve might cut interest rates sooner than expected.