SOUTH AFRICA MARKET REVIEW
- South African markets closed in the red on Friday, as investors assessed hawkish comments from the US Federal Reserve (Fed) Chair Jerome Powell.
- Property developers, Attacq (JO:ATTJ), Emira Property Fund (JO:EMIJ), Shaftesbury Capital and Growthpoint Properties (JO:GRTJ) edged down 9.2%, 3.2%, 3.0% and 1.5%, respectively.
- Lenders, Standard Bank (JO:SBKJ) Group, Capitec Bank Holdings (JO:CPIJ) and Nedbank Group (JO:NEDJ) declined 2.9%, 2.8% and 1.3%, respectively.
- On the flipside, food company, Tiger Brands (JO:TBSJ) jumped 11.2%, after the company announced the appointment of Tjaart Kruger as a new Chief Executive Officer (CEO).
- Gold miners, AngloGold Ashanti (JO:ANGJ) and Gold Fields (JO:GFIJ) advanced 3.9% and 3.0%, respectively.
- The JSE All Share index declined 1.1% to close at 70,198.01.
UK MARKET REVIEW
- The UK market finished weaker on Friday, weighed down by geopolitical tensions in the Middle East. Travel and leisure companies, Intercontinental Hotels Group (LON:IHG), Whitbread (LON:WTB) and International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (LON:ICAG) dropped 4.5%, 2.8% and 2.7%, respectively.
- Banking firms, HSBC Holdings (LON:HSBA), Barclays (LON:BARC) and Standard Chartered (LON:STAN) declined 4.0%, 2.0% and 1.8%, respectively.
- Paper and packaging companies, Smurfit Kappa Group (LON:SKG) and DS Smith (LON:SMDS) shed 3.5% and 1.6%, respectively.
- Miners, Fresnillo (LON:FRES), Rio Tinto (LON:RIO) and Antofagasta (LON:ANTO) fell 3.3%, 2.4% and 1.7%, respectively.
- Retailers, Ocado (LON:OCDO) Group, JD Sports Fashion (LON:JD), Next (LON:NXT) and J Sainsbury (LON:SBRY) eased 3.1%, 2.9%, 1.9% and 1.4%, respectively.
- The FTSE 100 index declined 1.3% to close at 7,402.14.
US MARKET REVIEW
- US markets ended sharply lower on Friday, amid surge in the US Treasury yields and on escalating Israel-Hamas conflict.
- Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company (NYSE:HPE) shed 6.6%, after the company projected weaker than expected earnings in 2024.
- Financial services companies, American Express (NYSE:AXP) and JPMorgan Chase (NYSE:JPM) dropped 5.4% and 1.6%, respectively.
- Technology companies, Salesforce (NYSE:CRM), Intel (NASDAQ:INTC), Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) declined 2.2%, 2.1%, 1.5% and 1.4%, respectively.
- The S&P 500 index fell 1.3% to settle at 4,224.16, while the DJIA index declined 0.9% to close at 33,127.28.
- The NASDAQ index eased 1.5% to end the trading session at 12,983.81.
ASIA MARKET REVIEW
- Asian markets are trading lower this morning. In Japan, electronics company, Renesas Electronics (TYO:6723) has declined 2.3%.
- On the flipside, pharmaceutical company, Astellas Pharma (TYO:4503) has advanced 2.5%.
- In Hong Kong, markets are closed today on account of a public holiday.
- In South Korea, pharmaceutical company, JW Pharmaceutical (KS:001065) has shed 9.1%.
- On the contrary, cables company, LS Cable & System Asia (KS:229640) has gained 11.7%.
- On Friday, the Hang Seng index declined 0.7% to close at 17,172.13.
- Today, the Nikkei 225 index is trading 0.8% lower at 31,007.12, while the Kospi index is trading 0.5% lower at 2,363.67.
COMMODITIES
- At 05:30 SAST today, Brent prices fell 0.8% to trade at $91.45/bl.
- On Friday, Brent prices fell 0.2% to settle at $92.16/bl. Baker Hughes reported that the US oil rigs count rose by 1 to 502 in the week ended 20 October 2023.
- At 05:30 SAST today, gold prices declined 0.5% to trade at $1,972.10/oz. On Friday, gold gained 0.4% to close at $1,981.04/oz, as the escalating Middle East conflict boosted demand for the safe haven yellow metal.
- On Friday, copper declined 0.6% to close at $7,879.61/mt. Aluminium closed 0.1% lower at $2,181.50/mt.
CURRENCIES
- On Friday, the South African rand strengthened against the US dollar.
- The yield on benchmark government bonds fell on Friday. The yield on the 2030 bond declined to 10.80% while that for the longer-dated 2040 issue fell to 12.95%.
- At 05:30 SAST, the US dollar is trading 0.3% higher against the South African rand at R19.0431, while the euro is trading marginally higher at R20.1426. At 05:30 SAST, the British pound has gained 0.4% against the South African rand to trade at R23.1469.
- On Friday, the euro mostly advanced against most of the major currencies. In Germany, the producer price index (PPI) unexpectedly declined in September. In the UK, retail sales dropped more than expected in September.
- At 05:30 SAST, the euro slipped 0.2% against the US dollar to trade at $1.0576, while it has weakened 0.1% against the British pound to trade at GBP0.8702.
ECONOMIC UPDATES
- In the UK, retail sales dropped 0.9% on a MoM basis in September, more than market expectations for a drop of 0.1%. Retail sales had advanced 0.4% in the previous month.
- In Germany, the PPI unexpectedly fell 0.2% on a MoM basis in September, compared to a rise of 0.3% recorded in the previous month.
- In Canada, retail sales declined 0.1% on a MoM basis in August, less than market expectations for a fall of 0.3% and compared to a revised rise of 0.4% in the prior month.
CORPORATE UPDATES
SOUTH AFRICA
- Merafe Resources Limited (JO:MRFJ): The mining company, in its production report for the nine months ended 30 September 2023, revealed a decline of approximately 21% to 225.00kt compared to the prior comparative period. The reduction is due to a planned pullback in production in response to market conditions.
- Oil heads higher on Middle East concerns: Oil prices extended gains and were on track to rise for a second week on heightened fears that the Israel-Gaza crisis may spread in the Middle East and disrupt supply from one of the world’s top-producing regions.