SOUTH AFRICA MARKET REVIEW
- South African markets closed in the green yesterday, boosted by gains in mining and financial sector stocks.
- Platinum miners, Northam Platinum (JO:NHMJ), Anglo American Platinum (JO:AMSJ) and Impala Platinum (JO:IMPJ) climbed 5.4%, 2.8% and 1.5%, respectively.
- Property developers, Growthpoint Properties (JO:GRTJ), Emira Property Fund (JO:EMIJ) and Shaftesbury Capital advanced 4.4%, 2.7% and 1.7%, respectively.
- Lenders, Standard Bank Group (JO:SBKJ), Nedbank Group (JO:NEDJ), FirstRand (JO:FSRJ) and Capitec Bank Holdings (JO:CPIJ) rose 4.0%, 3.5%, 3.0% and 1.5%, respectively.
- Gold miners, AngloGold Ashanti (JO:ANGJ) and Gold Fields (JO:GFIJ) gained 3.6% and 3.4%, respectively.
- Retailers, Clicks Group (JO:CLSJ), SPAR Group (JO:SPPJ) and Mr Price Group (JO:MRPJ) added 3.2%, 2.7% and 2.0%, respectively.
- The JSE All Share index advanced 1.4% to close at 74,824.13.
UK MARKET REVIEW
- The UK market finished firmer yesterday, as a slowdown in domestic inflation raised hopes for a rate hike pause by the Bank of England (BoE).
- Real estate companies, Persimmon (LON:PSN), Barratt Developments (LON:BDEV), Land Securities Group (LON:LAND) and Berkeley Group Holdings (LON:BKGH) climbed 5.1%, 4.7%, 4.1% and 3.4%, respectively.
- Retailers, B&M European Value Retail S.A. (LON:BMEB), Ocado Group (LON:OCDO) and Next (LON:NXT) advanced 4.0%, 1.2% and 1.1%, respectively.
- Banking firms, NatWest Group (LON:NWG), Lloyds Banking Group (LON:LLOY) and Standard Chartered (LON:STAN) gained 4.0%, 3.9% and 0.9%, respectively.
- Miners, Antofagasta (LON:ANTO), Fresnillo (LON:FRES) and Rio Tinto (LON:RIO) rose 2.8%, 2.2% and 1.1%, respectively.
- Investment management company, M&G added 1.7%, after the company reported better-than-expected interim results.
- The FTSE 100 index advanced 0.9% to close at 7,731.65.
US MARKET REVIEW
- US markets ended lower yesterday, after the US Federal Reserve kept its key interest rates unchanged and projected a slowdown in the US economy in 2024.
- Technology companies, Intel (NASDAQ:INTC), Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) dropped 4.5%, 2.4%, 2.0% and 1.2%, respectively.
- Financial services companies, Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) and American Express (NYSE:AXP) declined 1.5% and 1.3%, respectively.
- On the contrary, pharmaceutical companies, Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) and UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) advanced 2.7% and 2.4%, respectively.
- The S&P 500 index fell 0.9% to settle at 4,402.20, while the DJIA index declined 0.2% to close at 34,440.88.
- The NASDAQ index eased 1.5% to end the trading session at 13,469.13.
ASIA MARKET REVIEW
- Asian markets are trading lower this morning, tracking overnight losses on Wall Street.
- In Japan, electronics company, Renesas Electronics (TYO:6723) has declined 3.1%.
- On the flipside, transportation company, Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha (TYO:9107) has gained 1.4%.
- In Hong Kong, mining company, Zijin Mining (HK:2899) has shed 2.3%.
- On the other hand, gas supply company, ENN Energy Holdings (HK:2688) has advanced 2.6%,
- In South Korea, petrochemicals company, LG Chem (KS:051910) has dropped 5.4%.
- On the contrary, electronic products company, Samsung Corporation (KS:005930) has surged 9.0%.
- The Nikkei 225 index is trading 1.1% lower at 32,647.72.
- The Hang Seng index has declined 1.1% to trade at 17,688.42, while the Kospi index is trading 1.5% lower at 2,521.75.
COMMODITIES
- At 05:30 SAST today, Brent prices fell 0.8% to trade at $92.82/bl.
- Yesterday, Brent prices fell 0.9% to settle at $93.53/bl, as further rate hike projections raised demand concerns. Meanwhile, the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported that the US crude inventories fell by 2.14mn bls in the week ended 15 September 2023.
- At 05:30 SAST today, gold prices declined 0.1% to trade at $1,927.91/oz. Yesterday, gold declined 0.1% to close at $1,929.68/oz, as a stronger dollar and a rise in the US Treasury yields dented demand for the safe haven yellow metal.
- Yesterday, copper rose 0.5% to close at $8,276.00/mt. Aluminium closed 1.5% higher at $2,255.75/mt.
CURRENCIES
- Yesterday, the South African rand strengthened against the US dollar. In South Africa, the consumer price index (CPI) rose in August. Moreover, retail sales declined for an eighth consecutive month in July. Separately, in the US, the number of MBA mortgage applications rose in the week ended 15 September 2023. Moreover, the US Federal Reserve (Fed) kept its interest rates unchanged in July but indicated further rate hike projections for the coming years.
- The yield on benchmark government bonds were mixed yesterday. The yield on 2030 bond fell to 10.46%. Further, the yield on the longer-dated 2030 issue remained unchanged at 12.64%.
- At 05:30 SAST, the US dollar is trading 0.4% higher against the South African rand at R18.9439, while the euro is trading 0.2% higher at R20.1468. At 05:30 SAST, the British pound has gained 0.2% against the South African rand to trade at R23.3367.
- Yesterday, the euro mostly declined against most of the major currencies. In Germany, the producer price index (PPI) declined more than expected in August. In the UK, the CPI unexpectedly slowed to an 18-month low in August.
- At 05:30 SAST, the euro slipped 0.3% against the US dollar to trade at $1.0635, while it has marginally weakened against the British pound to trade at GBP0.8633.
ECONOMIC UPDATES
- In South Africa, the consumer price index (CPI) recorded a rise of 4.8% on a YoY basis in August, compared to an advance of 4.7% in the previous month.
- In South Africa, the CPI rose 0.3% on a MoM basis in August, in line with expectations and compared to a rise of 0.9% recorded in the prior month.
- In South Africa, retail sales dropped 1.8% on a YoY basis in July, more than market expectations for a drop of 1.2%. Retail sales had declined by a revised 1.8% in the previous month.
- In the UK, the DCLG house price index rose 0.6% on a YoY basis in July, compared to a revised rise of 1.9% recorded in the previous month.
- In the UK, the CPI rose 0.3% on a MoM basis in August, less than market expectations for a rise of 0.7%. The CPI had declined 0.4% in the previous month.
- In Germany, the producer price index (PPI) rose 0.3% on a MoM basis in August, more than market expectations and compared to a drop of 1.1% recorded in the previous month.
- In the eurozone, seasonally adjusted construction output rose 0.8% on a MoM basis in July, compared to a revised drop of 1.2% recorded in the previous month.
- In the US, MBA mortgage applications rose 5.4% in the week ended 15 September 2023, compared to a drop of 0.8% recorded in the previous week.
- The US Federal Reserve (Fed) kept its key interest rate unchanged at 5.5%, in line with market expectations, but signalled another rate hike this year.
CORPORATE UPDATES
SOUTH AFRICA
- Hyprop Investments Limited (JO:HYPJ): The real estate investment trust company, in its FY23 results, indicated that group revenue rose to R4.37bn from R3.12bn posted in the previous year. Its diluted EPS increased 6.2% from the prior year to 430.40c.
- PPC Limited (JO:PPCJ): The cement company, in its operational update for the five months ended 31 August 2023, revealed that revenue for PPC’s South Africa and Botswana group, which excludes Zimbabwe and Rwanda (CIMERWA), increased by 5.0%, driven by an increase of average selling prices despite weaker cement sales volumes. Group cement sales volumes increased 3.0% as compared with the previous year, due to exceptionally strong growth in Zimbabwe. Meanwhile, cement sales volumes in South Africa and Botswana decreased by 6% as compared with the previous year.
- Oil prices down by a dollar before US rates decision: Oil prices fell by more than $1 ahead of the US Federal Reserve's interest-rate decision, with investors uncertain when peak rates will be hit and how much of an impact it will have on energy demand.