CURRENT CO-ORDINATES
- South African markets closed in the red on Friday, amid global market pressures related to potential US-China trade tensions.
- Gold mining companies, Harmony Gold Mining Co. (JO:HARJ), Sibanye Stillwater (JO:SSWJ), DRD Gold (JO:DRDJ), AngloGold Ashanti (JO:ANGJ) and Gold Fields (JO:GFIJ) shed 5.5%, 3.1%, 2.1%, 1.9% and 1.4%, respectively.
- Property builders also experienced losses, with Resilient REIT Ltd (JO:RESJ) down 2.8%, Lighthouse Properties (JO:LTEJ) falling 2.5%, Hyprop Investments (JO:HYPJ) declining 2.2%, and Emira Property Fund (JO:EMIJ) decreasing 1.5%.
- Diversified miners, Anglo American (JO:AGLJ), African Rainbow Minerals (JO:ARIJ), Pan African Resources (JO:PANJ) and Glencore (JO:GLNJ) dropped 1.7%, 1.3%, 1.1% and 0.7%, respectively.
- The JSE All Share index dropped 0.5% to close at 79,922.67.
UK MARKET REVIEW
- The UK market finished weaker on Friday, impacted by a global cyber outage affecting financial data platforms and a decline in domestic retail sales.
- Retailers, Burberry Group (LON:BRBY), Ocado Group (LON:OCDO) and JD Sports Fashion (LON:JD) plunged 7.2%, 3.7% and 3.1%, respectively.
- Real estate company, Segro (LON:SGRO) shed 1.8%, after selling four warehouses in Italy for EUR327.00mn (GBP275.00mn).
- Water Utility company, United Utilities Group (LON:UU) fell 1.4%, even after the company reported a strong operational performance and affirmed its financial guidance for 2024-25.
- Mining companies, Glencore (JO:GLNJ), Anglo American (LON:AAL) and Fresnillo (LON:FRES) dropped 2.0%, 1.8% and 1.4%, respectively.
- The FTSE 100 index eased 0.6% to close at 8,155.72.
US MARKET REVIEW
- US markets ended mostly weaker on Friday due to a widespread technical outage that caused uncertainty and operational disruptions across critical sectors.
- Insurance company, Travelers Cos (NYSE:TRV)., shed 7.7%, after the company posted lower-than-expected growth in net written premiums in 2Q24 results.
- Streaming company, Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) declined 1.5%, after warning that third-quarter subscriber additions would be lower than the previous year.
- On the other hand, pharmaceutical company, Eli Lilly (NYSE:LLY) advanced 1.1%, after China's approval of its weight-loss drug Tirzepatide.
- The S&P 500 index dropped 0.7% to settle at 5,505.00, while the DJIA index declined 0.9% to close at 40,287.53.
- The NASDAQ index shed 0.8% to end the trading session at 17,726.94.
ASIA MARKET REVIEW
- Asian markets are trading mostly lower this morning, as investors react to China's modest rate cut and ongoing concerns about economic weakness.
- In Japan, semiconductor company, Disco Corporation (TYO:6146) dropped 4.5%.
- On the flipside, advertising company, CyberAgent (TYO:4751) has advanced 2.3%.
- In Hong Kong, pharmaceutical company, Hansoh Pharmaceutical Group (HK:3692) Co. has advanced 2.7%.
- The other hand, restaurant company, Haidilao International Holding (TYO:9984) has shed 1.7%.
- In South Korea, electronics company, Samsung Electronics (KS:005930) has shed 1.7%.
- On the contrary, building materials company, Ilshinstone Co. (KS:007110) has jumped 6.3%.
- The Nikkei 225 index is trading 1.2% lower at 39,593.81.
- The Hang Seng index has added 0.7% to trade at 17,544.64, while the Kospi index is trading 1.4% lower at 2,756.30.
COMMODITIES
- At 05:30 SAST today, Brent prices rose 0.6% to trade at $83.12/bl.
- On Friday, Brent prices fell 2.9% to settle at $82.63/bl, due to a stronger US dollar dampened demand and on concerns over China's economic slowdown affecting oil demand.
- At 05:30 SAST today, gold prices advanced 0.2% to trade at $2,405.14/oz. On Friday, gold declined 1.8% to close at $2,400.79/oz, as a jump in dollar and rise in the US Treasury yields which reduced demand for the safe haven yellow metal.
- On Friday, copper declined 1.4% to close at $9,213.35/mt. Aluminium closed 1.4% lower at $2,352.15/mt.
CURRENCIES
- On Friday, the South African rand weakened against the US dollar.
- The yield on benchmark government bonds advanced on Friday. The yield on the 2030 bond rose to 9.60%, while that for the longer-dated 2040 issue advanced to 11.59%.
- At 05:30 SAST, the US dollar is trading 0.2% lower against the South African rand at R18.2430, while the euro is trading 0.1% lower at R19.8712. At 05:30 SAST, the British pound has marginally declined against the South African rand to trade at R23.5720.
- On Friday, the euro mostly declined against most of the major currencies. In Germany, producer price inflation slowed to its lowest pace in June. In the eurozone, current account surplus remained unchanged in May. In the UK, retail sales dropped in June, amid election uncertainty and poor weather.
- At 05:30 SAST, the euro advanced 0.1% against the US dollar to trade at $1.0894, while it has marginally weakened against the British pound to trade at GBP0.8430.
ECONOMIC UPDATES
- In the UK, retail sales dropped 1.2% on a MoM basis in June, more than market expectations for a drop of 0.4%. In the previous month, retail sales had climbed 2.9%.
- In Germany, the producer price index (PPI) advanced 0.2% on a MoM basis in June, more than market expectations for an advance of 0.1%. In the previous month, the PPI had registered a flat reading.
- In the eurozone, seasonally adjusted current account surplus stood at EUR36.70bn in May, compared to similar surplus in the previous month.
- In Canada, retail sales dropped 0.8% on a MoM basis in May, more than market expectations and compared to a revised rise of 0.6%.
- The People’s Bank of China slashed its key interest rate to 3.35%.
CORPORATE UPDATES
SOUTH AFRICA
- Reinet Investments S.C.A. (JO:RNIJ): The investment company, revealed that as at 30 June 2024, the net asset value (NAV) per share amounted to EUR36.69 and the NAV amounted to EUR6.29bn.
- Karooooo Limited (JO:KROJ): The software company, in its 1Q25 results, reported that revenue rose to R1.08bn from R1.00bn posted in the corresponding period of the previous year. Its diluted EPS increased 40.9% from the same period of the prior year to R7.17.
- Anxious wait for Discovery Green after Eskom curveball: Eskom has put a significant hurdle in the way of Discovery Green’s plans to link renewable energy production with business demands by objecting to its trading application.