SOUTH AFRICA MARKET REVIEW
- South African markets closed in the green on Friday, boosted by gains in mining sector stocks.
- Platinum miners, Anglo American Platinum (JO:AMSJ), Northam Platinum (JO:NPHJ) and Impala Platinum (JO:IMPJ) jumped 6.9%, 6.6% and 5.8%, respectively.
- Diversified miners, African Rainbow Minerals (JO:ARIJ), Anglo American (JO:AGLJ) and Pan African Resources (JO:PANJ) advanced 4.0%, 1.8% and 0.8%, respectively.
- Gold miners, Sibanye Stillwater (JO:SSWJ) and AngloGold Ashanti (JO:ANGJ) gained 3.4% and 1.2%, respectively.
- Telecommunications companies, MTN Group (JO:MTNJ), Vodacom Group (JO:VODJ) and Blue Label Telecoms (JO:BLUJ) rose 2.2%, 1.4% and 0.7%, respectively.
- On the flipside, pharmaceutical companies, Aspen Pharmacare Holdings (JO:APNJ), Life Healthcare Group (JO:LHCJ) and Netcare (JO:NTCJ) dropped 4.2%, 2.6% and 1.0%, respectively.
- The JSE All Share index advanced 0.7% to close at 87,201.50.
UK MARKET REVIEW
- The UK market finished weaker on Friday, weighed down by losses in tobacco sector stocks.
- Tobacco company, British American Tobacco (LON:BATS) (JO:SNHJ) dropped 3.2, after the company along with Philip Morris (NYSE:PM) and Japan Tobacco (TYO:2914), agreed to pay $23.60bn to settle a long-running tobacco lawsuit in Canada.
- Homebuilders, Vistry Group (LON:VTYV), Taylor Wimpey (LON:TW) and Persimmon (LON:PSN) declined 2.3%, 1.9% and 1.7%, respectively.
- Retailers, Next, Marks & Spencer Group (LON:MKS) and JD Sports Fashion (LON:JD) shed 2.0%, 1.3% and 1.1%, respectively.
- On the other hand, miners, Fresnillo (LON:FRES), Antofagasta (LON:ANTO), Glencore (LON:GLEN) and Rio Tinto (LON:RIO) advanced 2.7%, 1.5%, 1.4% and 1.0%, respectively.
- The FTSE 100 indexdeclined 0.3% to close at 8,358.25.
US MARKET REVIEW
- US markets ended higher on Friday, buoyed by strong Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) results and investor optimism regarding Beijing's policy measures to stimulate Chinese demand..
- Media and entertainment company, Netflix surged 11.1%, driven by investor confidence in its robust content lineup to sustain positive subscriber growth.
- Airlines companies, Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV), American Airlines Group (NASDAQ:AAL), United Airlines Holdings (NASDAQ:UAL) and Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) advanced 3.0%, 2.2%, 1.1% and 1.0%, respectively.
- Technology companies, Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC), Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) gained 1.5%, 1.2% and 0.6%, respectively.
- The S&P 500 index rose 0.4% to settle at 5,864.67, while the DJIA index advanced 0.1% to close at 43,275.91.
- The NASDAQ index climbed 0.6% to end the trading session at 18,489.55.
ASIA MARKET REVIEW
- Asian markets are trading mostly higher this morning, after China slashed its benchmark interest rate in line with expectations.
- In Japan, transportation company, Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha (TYO:9107) has advanced 4.2%.
- On the flipside, pharmaceutical company, Sumitomo Pharma (TYO:4506) has shed 3.4%.
- In Hong Kong, internet technology company, NetEase (NASDAQ:NTES) has declined 2.9%.
- On the other hand, consumer electronics company, Lenovo Group (HK:0992) has gained 2.8%.
- In South Korea, online games company, Netmarble Corporation (KS:251270) has jumped 6.6%.
- On the contrary, automotive parts company, DN Automotive Corporation (KS:007340) has dropped 4.3%.
- The Nikkei 225 index is trading 0.3% higher at 39,110.95.
- The Hang Seng index has declined 0.4% to trade at 20,717.81, while the Kospi index is trading 0.8% higher at 2,614.27.
COMMODITIES
- At 05:30 SAST today, Brent prices rose 0.3% to trade at $73.3/bl.
- On Friday, Brent prices fell 1.9% to settle at $73.06/bl, amid growing concerns over slowdown in Chinese economic growth and a mixed outlook for the Middle East. Moreover, Baker Hughes reported that oil rigs count rose by 1 to 482 in the week ended 18 October 2024.
- At 05:30 SAST today, gold prices advanced 0.4% to trade at $2,732.19/oz. On Friday, gold gained 1.0% to close at $2,720.25/oz, driven by rising escalating tensions in the Middle East and uncertainties surrounding the upcoming US elections.
- On Friday, copper rose 1.3% to close at $9,502.86/mt. Aluminium closed 1.4% higher at $2,590.10/mt.
CURRENCIES
- On Friday, the South African rand strengthened against the US dollar. In the US, both, building permits and housing starts dropped in September.
- The yield on benchmark bonds were unchanged yesterday. The yield on the SA 10-year generic bond stood at 10.59%, while that for SA 20-year generic bond stood at 11.37%
- At 05:30 SAST, the US dollar is trading 0.1% lower against the South African rand at R17.5847, while the euro is trading 0.1% lower at R19.1067. At 05:30 SAST, the British pound has declined 0.1% against the South African rand to trade at R22.9487.
- On Friday, the euro mostly advanced against most of the major currencies. In the UK, retail sales unexpectedly rose in September.
- At 05:30 SAST, the euro slightly slipped against the US dollar to trade at $1.0868, while it has marginally gained against the British pound to trade at GBP0.8329.
ECONOMIC UPDATES
- In the UK, retail sales unexpectedly rose 0.3% on a MoM basis in September, compared to a rise of 1.0% recorded in the prior month.
- In the UK, the Rightmove house price index rose 0.3% on a MoM basis in October, compared to a rise of 0.8% recorded in the previous month,
- In the eurozone, seasonally adjusted current account surplus widened to EUR31.50bn in August, compared to a revised surplus of EUR4.08bn recorded in the prior month.
- In the US, building permits dropped 2.9% on a MoM basis in September, compared to a revised rise of 4.6% recorded in the previous month.
- In the US, housing starts dropped 0.5% on a MoM basis in September, compared to a revised rise of 7.8% recorded in the prior month.
- The People’s Bank of China (PBoC) cut its key interest rate by 25 basis points to 3.1%.
CORPORATE UPDATES
SOUTH AFRICA
- Oil steadies but heads for biggest weekly loss in more than a month: Crude oil futures steadied after strong US retail sales data, but Chinese economic indicators remained mixed and prices were headed for their biggest weekly loss in more than a month on concerns about demand.