SOUTH AFRICA MARKET REVIEW
- South African markets closed in the green yesterday, led by gains in precious metal mining and banking sector stocks.
- Platinum miners, Impala Platinum (JO:IMPJ), Northam Platinum (JO:NPHJ) and Anglo American Platinum (JO:AMSJ) advanced 2.7%, 2.2% and 1.3%, respectively.
- Gold miners, Gold Fields (JO:GFIJ), Sibanye Stillwater (JO:SSWJ) and AngloGold Ashanti (JO:ANGJ) gained 2.4%, 2.0% and 1.2%, respectively.
- Property developers, Emira Property Fund (JO:EMIJ), Resilient REIT (JO:RESJ) and Redefine Properties (JO:RDFJ) rose 2.3%, 2.2% and 1.9%, respectively.
- Banking companies, Absa Group (JO:ABGJ), Standard Bank Group (JO:SBKJ) and FirstRand (JO:FSRJ) added 1.8%, 1.2% and 0.9%, respectively.
- On the flipside, insurance companies, both, Old Mutual (JO:OMUJ) and Discovery declined 1.3%, each.
- The JSE All Share index advanced 0.3% to close at 80,706.44.
UK MARKET REVIEW
- The UK market finished weaker yesterday, amid losses in commodity sector stocks.
- Miners, Glencore (LON:GLEN) and Rio Tinto (LON:RIO) dropped 2.2% and 1.5%, respectively, as concerns over weak Chinese demand weighed on copper prices.
- Energy companies, Shell (LON:RDSa) and BP (LON:BP) shed 1.7% and 1.6%, respectively.
- On the other hand, foodservices company, Compass Group (LON:CPG) advanced 4.5%, after the company raise its FY24 profit and revenue forecasts for the second time this year.
- Aerospace and defense company, Rolls-Royce Holdings (LON:RR) gained 3.8%, after its CEO Tufan Erginbilgic revealed that the company is developing a smaller version of its Ultrafan engine for the next generation of narrow-body jets.
- The FTSE 100 index declined 0.4% to close at 8,167.37.
US MARKET REVIEW
- US markets ended lower yesterday, amid mixed domestic corporate earnings data.
- Financial services companies, Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS), Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) and Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC) advanced 1.1%, 1.0% and 0.9%, respectively.
- On the contrary, distribution and logistics company, United Parcel Services (NYSE:UPS) plunged 12.1%, after the company reported lower than expected earnings in 2Q24, following subdued package delivery demand and higher labor-contract costs.
- Semiconductors company, NXP Semiconductors (NASDAQ:NXPI) dropped 7.6%, after the company forecasted lower than expected revenue in 3Q24, citing sluggish from automotive demand and rising geopolitical risks.
- The S&P 500 index fell 0.2% to settle at 5,555.74, while the DJIA index declined 0.1% to close at 40,358.09.
- The NASDAQ index eased 0.1% to end the trading session at 17,997.35.
ASIA MARKET REVIEW
- Asian markets are trading lower this morning, amid disappointing US corporate earnings data.
- In Japan, automobile company, Isuzu Motors (TYO:7202) has shed 3.6%.
- On the other hand, pharmaceutical company, Chugai Pharmaceutical (TYO:4519) has gained 2.9%.
- In Hong Kong, real estate company, Longfor Group Holdings (HK:0960) has declined 3.3%.
- On the other hand, banking company, Hang Seng bank (HK:0011) has added 0.7%.
- In South Korea, construction and trading service company, Kolon Global (KS:003070) has dropped 5.7%.
- On the contrary, pharmaceutical company, Hyundai Pharmaceutical (KS:004310) has surged 11.0%.
- The Nikkei 225 index is trading 0.2% lower at 39,508.84.
- The Hang Seng index has declined 0.6% to trade at 17,360.31, while the Kospi index is trading 0.1% lower at 2,771.00.
COMMODITIES
- At 05:30 SAST today, Brent prices rose 0.5% to trade at $81.38/bl.
- Yesterday, Brent prices fell 1.7% to a six-week low to settle at $81.01/bl, amid growing optimism surrounding a potential ceasefire in Gaza and heightened Chinese demand concerns. Moreover, the American Petroleum Institute (API) reported that crude oil inventories declined by 3.90mn bls in the week ended 19 July 2024.
- At 05:30 SAST today, gold prices advanced 0.4% to trade at $2,417.30/oz. Yesterday, gold gained 0.5% to close at $2,408.56/oz, ahead of US economic data due this week.
- Yesterday, copper declined 0.5% to close at $9,046.54/mt. Aluminium closed marginally lower at $2,311.98/mt.
CURRENCIES
- Yesterday, the South African rand weakened against the US dollar. In the US, existing home sales dropped in June. Moreover, the Richmond Fed manufacturing index unexpectedly declined in July.
- The yield on benchmark government bonds fell yesterday. The yield on the 2030 bond fell to 9.41%, while that for the longer-dated 2040 issue dropped to 11.45%.
- At 05:30 SAST, the US dollar is trading marginally higher against the South African rand at R18.3953, while the euro is trading 0.1% lower at R19.9506. At 05:30 SAST, the British pound has declined 0.1% against the South African rand to trade at R23.7133.
- Yesterday, the euro mostly declined against most of the major currencies. In the eurozone, the consumer confidence index improved for a sixth consecutive month in July.
- At 05:30 SAST, the euro slipped 0.1% against the US dollar to trade at $1.0845, while it has gained 0.1% against the British pound to trade at GBP0.8416.
ECONOMIC UPDATES
- In the eurozone, the consumer confidence index climbed to a level of -13.00 in July, more than market expectations for a rise to a level of -13.20. The consumer confidence index had recorded a level of -14.00 in the prior month.
- In the US, existing home sales dropped 5.4% on a MoM basis in June, compared to a drop of 0.7% recorded in the prior month.
- In the US, the Richmond Fed manufacturing index unexpectedly dropped to a level of -17.00 in July, compared to a level of -10.00 recorded in the previous month.
- In Japan, the Jibun Bank manufacturing PMI unexpectedly declined to a level of 49.20 in July, compared to a level of 50.00 recorded in the previous month.
- In Japan, the Jibun Bank services PMI advanced to a level of 53.90 in July, compared to a level of 49.40 recorded in the previous month.
- In Australia, the Judo Bank manufacturing PMI rose to a level of 47.40 in July, compared to a level of 47.20 recorded in the prior month.
- In Australia, the Judo Bank services PMI fell to a level of 50.80 in July, compared to a level of 51.20 recorded in the prior month.
CORPORATE UPDATES
SOUTH AFRICA
- Cashbuild Limited (JO:CSBJ): The retail company, in its 4Q24 operational update, revealed that group revenue increased 4.0% as compared with the prior year. For the 310 existing stores, revenue increased by 3.0% and the 12 new stores, contributed 1.0% growth. During the quarter, the company opened 3 new Cashbuild stores and closed 2 underperforming stores.
- Kumba Iron Ore Limited (JO:KIOJ): The mining company, in its 1H24 results, reported that revenues fell to R35.80bn from R38.28bn posted in the corresponding period of the previous year. Its diluted EPS fell 25.9% from the same period of the prior year to R22.23.
- Reinet (JO:RNIJ) grows NAV by 1.6% in June quarter: Investment vehicle Reinet has reported a 1.6% rise in its net asset value (NAV) in the quarter to end-June from the previous quarter.