SOUTH AFRICA MARKET REVIEW
- South African markets closed in the red yesterday, led by losses in precious metal mining stocks.
- Gold miners, Sibanye Stillwater (JO:SSWJ), AngloGold Ashanti (JO:ANGJ) and Gold Fields (JO:GFIJ) dropped 4.1%, 3.0% and 2.5%, respectively.
- Platinum miners, Northam Platinum (JO:NPHJ), Impala Platinum (JO:IMPJ) and Anglo American Platinum (JO:AMSJ) declined 4.0%, 1.9% and 1.6%, respectively.
- Telecommunications companies, Vodacom Group (JO:VODJ), Blue Label Telecoms (JO:BLUJ) and MTN Group (JO:MTNJ) shed 2.8%, 2.0% and 1.2%, respectively.
- Pharmaceutical companies, Netcare (JO:NTCJ) and Life Healthcare Group (JO:LHCJ) eased 1.0% and 0.9%, respectively.
- On the flipside, retailers, Pick ‘n Pay Stores (JO:PIKJ), SPAR Group (JO:SPPJ) and Lewis Group (JO:LEWJ) advanced 1.7%, 0.7% and 0.6%, respectively.
- The JSE All Share index declined 0.8% to close at 71,868.06.
UK MARKET REVIEW
- The UK market finished firmer yesterday, les by gains in consumer staple stocks.
- Consumer goods company, Unilever (LON:ULVR) advanced 3.1%, after the company announced plans to spin off its ice cream unit, Magnum and Ben & Jerry's, and cut 7,500 jobs in a new cost-savings programme.
- Defense and aerospace companies, Rolls-Royce Group Holdings (LON:RR) and BAE Systems (LON:BAES) gained 2.7% and 1.7%, respectively.
- Paper and packaging companies, Smurfit Kappa Group (LON:SKG), Mondia and DS Smith (LON:SMDS) rose 1.7%, 1.1% and 0.9%, respectively.
- Energy companies, Shell (LON:RDSa) and BP (LON:BP) added 1.3% and 1.0%, respectively.
- On the other hand, telecommunications companies, Airtel Africa (LON:AAF) and Vodafone Group (LON:VOD) dropped 4.0% and 1.2%, respectively.
- Homebuilders, Persimmon (LON:PSN) and Taylor Wimpey (LON:TW) shed 2.1% and 1.6%, respectively.
- The FTSE 100 indexadvanced 0.2% to close at 7,738.30.
US MARKET REVIEW
- US markets ended higher yesterday, as investors await the US Federal Reserve's policy meeting for further insights on interest rate policy.
- Homebuilding companies, DR Horton (NYSE:DHI), Lennar Corporation (NYSE:LEN) and PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) jumped 3.0%, 1.9% and 1.1%, respectively.
- Technology companies, Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) and International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) advanced 1.4%, 1.0% and 0.9%, respectively.
- Semiconductor company, Nvidia Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) gained 1.1%, after the company revealed pricing and shipment plans for Blackwell B200 artificial intelligence chip, which would be 30 times faster than current chips.
- The S&P 500 index rose 0.6% to settle at 5,178.51, while the DJIA index advanced 0.8% to close at 39,110.76.
- The NASDAQ index climbed 0.4% to end the trading session at 16,166.79.
ASIA MARKET REVIEW
- Asian markets are trading higher this morning. In Japan, markets are closed today on account of a public holiday.
- In Hong Kong, consumer electronics company, Xiaomi Corporation (HK:1810) has shed 2.6%.
- On the other hand, pharmaceutical company, Hanoh Pharmaceutical has gained 1.5%.
- In South Korea, fire extinguishers company, Han-Chang Corporation (KS:009460) has surged 14.2%.
- On the contrary, chemical company, Green Chemical (KS:083420) has dropped 4.8%.
- Yesterday, the Nikkei 225 index advanced 0.7% to close at 40,003.60.
- Today, the Hang Seng index has gained 0.4% to trade at 16,596.54, while the Kospi index is trading 1.3% higher at 2,691.59.
COMMODITIES
- At 05:30 SAST today, Brent prices fell 0.2% to trade at $87.17/bl.
- Yesterday, Brent prices rose 0.6% to settle at $87.38/bl, amid concerns over Ukraine's recent attacks on Russian refineries that could affect global supply. Additionally, the American Petroleum Institute (API) reported that the US crude oil inventories declined by 1.52mn bls in the week ended 15 March 2024.
- At 05:30 SAST today, gold prices advanced 0.1% to trade at $2,159.07/oz. Yesterday, gold declined 0.1% to close at $2,157.23/oz, as a stronger dollar dented demand for the safe haven yellow metal.
- Yesterday, copper declined 1.3% to close at $8,870.66/mt. Aluminium closed 0.2% lower at $2,269.15/mt.
CURRENCIES
- Yesterday, the South African rand strengthened against the US dollar. In the US, housing starts rose to its highest level in 2 years in February, amid mild temperatures and a persistent shortage of previously owned houses in the market. Moreover, building permits rose to its highest level since May 2022 in February.
- The yield on benchmark government bonds fell yesterday. The yield on the 2030 bond declined to 10.74%, while that for the longer-dated 2040 issue fell to 13.17%.
- At 05:30 SAST, the US dollar is trading marginally higher against the South African rand at R18.907, while the euro is trading 0.1% higher at R20.5495. At 05:30 SAST, the British pound has slightly gained against the South African rand to trade at R24.0535.
- Yesterday, the euro declined against most of the major currencies. In Germany, the ZEW economic sentiment index improved more than expected in March, amid rising prospects of interest rate cuts by the European Central Bank (ECB).
- At 05:30 SAST, the euro marginally advanced against the US dollar to trade at $1.0869, while it has slightly gained against the British pound to trade at GBP0.8545.
ECONOMIC UPDATES
- In Switzerland, trade surplus narrowed to CHF3.66bn in February, compared to a revised surplus of CHF4.70bn in the previous month.
- In Germany, the ZEW current situation index unexpectedly rose to a level of -80.50 in March, compared to a level of -81.70 recorded in the prior month.
- In Germany, the ZEW economic sentiment index rose to a level of 31.70 in March, more than market expectations for a rise to a level of 20.50. The ZEW economic sentiment index had recorded a level of 19.90 in the prior month.
- In the eurozone, the ZEW economic sentiment index rose to a level of 33.50 in March, more than market expectations for a rise to a level of 25.40. The ZEW economic sentiment index had recorded a level of 25.00 in the prior month.
- In Canada, the consumer price index (CPI) rose 0.3% on a MoM basis in February, more than market expectations for a rise of 0.6%. The CPI had recorded a flat reading in the prior month.
- In the US, housing starts rose 10.7% on MoM basis in February, compared to a revised drop of 12.3% recorded in the prior month.
- In the US, building permits rose 1.9% on a MoM basis in February, compared to a revised drop of 0.3% recorded in the previous month.
- In Japan, industrial production dropped 1.5% on a YoY basis in January, compared to a similar drop recorded in the prior month.
- The People’s Bank of China (PBoC) kept its key interest rate unchanged at 3.45%, in line with market expectations.
CORPORATE UPDATES
SOUTH AFRICA
- AngloGold Ashanti Plc (JO:ANGJ): The gold mining company, in its 1H24 results, reported that revenue stood at $2.40bn. Its diluted loss per share stood at 47.00 US cents, as compared with that recorded in the corresponding period of the previous year.
- Remgro Limited (JO:REMJ): The investment holding company, in its 1H24 results, indicated that its revenue rose to R25.41bn from R24.16bn posted in the corresponding period of the previous year. Its diluted loss per share stood at 432.00c, compared with an EPS of 701.00c recorded in the corresponding period of the previous year.
- Oil loses ground in cautious trade ahead of Fed meeting: Oil prices dipped due in part to the prospect of rising supply from Russia, slower-than-expected downstream demand in sectors such as jet fuel, and cautious trading ahead of the Fed’s decision on US interest rates.