SOUTH AFRICA MARKET REVIEW
- South African markets closed in the green on Friday, driven by strong performances in telecommunications and retail sector stocks.
- Telecommunication companies, Vodacom Group (JO:VODJ) and MTN Group (JO:MTNJ) advanced 5.6% and 3.0%, respectively.
- Retailers, Cashbuild (JO:CSBJ), Shoprite Holdings (JO:SHPJ), Woolworths Holdings (JO:WHLJ), Italtile (JO:ITEJ), Truworths International (JO:TRUJ), Spar Group (JO:SPPJ), Foschini Group (JO:TFGJ) and Mr Price Group (JO:MRPJ) jumped 5.6%, 3.1%, 2.7%, 2.4%, 2.3%, 1.9%, 1.6% and 1.5%, respectively.
- Homebuilders, Alexander Forbes Group Holdings (JO:AFHJ), Redefine Properties (JO:RDFJ), Vukile Property Fund (JO:VKEJ), Burstone Group (JO:BTNJ) and Lighthouse Properties (JO:LTEJ) gained 4.4%, 3.2%, 2.6%, 2.3% and 2.0%, respectively.
- Platinum miners, Impala Platinum Holdings (JO:IMPJ) and Anglo American Platinum (JO:AMSJ) added 3.1% and 2.7%, respectively. The JSE All Share index advanced 0.7% to close at 82,824.44.
UK MARKET REVIEW
- The UK market finished weaker on Friday, impacted by a stronger British Pound and mixed investor sentiment following the modest rose in UK retail sales in July.
- Property developers, Rightmove, Berkeley Group Holdings (LON:BKGH), Persimmon (LON:PSN) and Segro (LON:SGRO) declined 2.8%, 2.6%, 1.5% and 1.4%, respectively.
- Miners, Fresnillo (LON:FRES), Glencore (LON:GLEN) and Antofagasta (LON:ANTO) dropped 2.0%, 1.1% and 0.6%, respectively. Beverages companies, Diageo (LON:DGE) and Coca-Cola HBC AG (LON:CCH) shed 1.5% and 0.6%, respectively.
- On the contrary, retailers, Burberry Group (LON:BRBY), Kingfisher (LON:KGF) and Marks & Spencer (LON:MKS) advanced 2.3%, 1.0% and 0.6%, respectively.
- Banks, NatWest (LON:NWG) and Lloyds Banking Group (LON:LLOY) added 0.8% and 0.7%, respectively.
- The FTSE 100 index eased 0.4% to close at 8,311.41.
US MARKET REVIEW
- US markets ended higher on Friday, as investors anticipated the upcoming Jackson Hole Economic Symposium.
- Networking services companies, Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO), Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) and AT&T (NYSE:T) gained 1.9%, 1.4% and 1.3%, respectively.
- Financial services, Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) and American Express Co (NYSE:AXP)., advanced 1.1% and 0.9%, respectively.
- On the other hand, semiconductor companies, Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) and Microchip Technology (NASDAQ:MCHP) dropped 1.9% and 0.6%, respectively.
- The S&P 500 index rose 0.2% to settle at 5,554.25, while the DJIA index advanced 0.2% to close at 40,659.76.
- The NASDAQ index climbed 0.2% to end the trading session at 17,631.72.
ASIA MARKET REVIEW
- Asian markets are trading mostly lower this morning.
- In Japan, electronic modules and components company, Murata Manufacturing (TYO:6981) Co., decreased 2.0%.
- On the flipside, advertising company, CyberAgent (TYO:4751) advanced 2.5%.
- In Hong Kong, e-commerce company, JD.com (NASDAQ:JD) has gained 5.5%.
- On the other hand, pharmaceutical company, Sino Biopharmaceutical (HK:1177) declined 1.2%.
- In South Korea, energy company, supplies imported LNG has shed 5.3%.
- On the contrary, chemicals company, ISU Specialty Chemical Co. (KS:457190) has surged 8.5%.
- The Nikkei 225 index is trading marginally lower at 38,047.17.
- The Hang Seng index has advanced 1.0% to trade at 17,597.10, while the Kospi index is trading 0.3% lower at 2,690.49.
COMMODITIES
- At 05:30 SAST today, Brent prices dropped by 0.1% to trade at $79.57/bl, as investors monitored the progress of Middle East ceasefire talks, which could alleviate supply risks.
- On Friday, Brent prices fell 1.7% to settle at $79.68/bl, amid concerns over Chinese demand. Meanwhile, Baker Hughes reported a decline in the oil rig count, which fell by 2 to 483 for the week ending 16 August 2024.
- At 05:30 SAST today, gold prices declined 0.1% to trade at $2,503.80/oz. On Friday, gold gained 2.0% to close at $2,507.28/oz, as increasing expectations for a September rate cut weighed on dollar thereby increasing demand for the safe haven yellow metal.
- On Friday, copper declined 1.3% to close at $8,937.00/mt. Aluminium closed 0.8% higher at $2,365.50/mt.
Currencies
- On Friday, the South African rand strengthened against the US dollar. In the US, single-family homebuilding dropped to a 16-month low in July, impacted by Hurricane Beryl and an oversupply of homes, with higher mortgage rates and prices dampening sales.
- The yield on benchmark government bonds advanced on Friday. The yield on the 2030 bond rose to 9.29%, while that for the longer-dated 2040 issue climbed to 11.30%.
- At 05:30 SAST, the US dollar is trading 0.2% lower against the South African rand at R17.8326, while the euro is trading 0.2% lower at R19.6703. At 05:30 SAST, the British pound has declined 0.1% against the South African rand to trade at R23.0928.
- On Friday, the euro weakened against most of the major currencies. In the eurozone, seasonally adjusted trade surplus expanded in June. In the UK, retail sales rebounded in July.
- At 05:30 SAST, the euro advanced 0.1% against the US dollar to trade at $1.104, while it has marginally weakened against the British pound to trade at GBP0.8519.
ECONOMIC UPDATES
- In the UK, retail sales increased by 0.5% on a MoM basis in July, following a revised drop of 0.9% in the prior month.
- In the UK, the Rightmove house price index rose 0.8% on a YoY basis in August, up from a 0.4% increase in the prior month.
- In the eurozone, seasonally adjusted trade surplus expanded to EUR17.50bn in June, compared with EUR12.40bn recorded in the previous month.
- In the US, building permits fell by 4.0% on a MoM basis in July, after a revised rise of 3.9% recorded in the prior month.
- In the US, housing starts declined 6.8% on a MoM basis in July. Housing starts had registered a revised rise of 1.1% in the prior month.
In US, the flash Reuters/Michigan consumer sentiment index advanced to a level of 67.80 in August, up from 66.40 in the previous month.
CORPORATE UPDATES
SOUTH AFRICA
- KAP Limited (JO:KAPJ): The holding company, in its trading statement for the year ended 30 June 2024, anticipates its EPS to be between 41.80c and 45.80c, reflecting an increase of between 96% and 115% compared to 21.30c reported for FY23. HEPS is expected to be between 43.30c and 47.30c, representing a decrease of between 0% and 8% compared to 47.30c reported for FY23. The company expects to release results on 30 August 2024.
- Grindrod Shipping Holdings Limited (JO:GSHJ): The maritime transportation services company announced that its selective capital reduction, effective 16 August 2024, resulted in the cancellation of all shares except those held by Good Falkirk. A cash distribution of $14.25 per share will be made by 21 August 2024, or by 27 August 2024, through Continental Stock Transfer and Trust Company for Nasdaq shares and Computershare Investor Services (Pty) Ltd for Johannesburg Stock Exchange shares.