SOUTH AFRICA MARKET REVIEW
- South African markets closed in the red yesterday, weighed down by losses in healthcare and property sector stocks.
- Pharmaceutical companies, Life Healthcare Group (JO:LHCJ) and Netcare (JO:NTCJ) dropped 5.4% and 2.1%, respectively.
- Property developers, Hammerson (JO:HMNJ) (LON:HMSO), Growthpoint Properties (JO:GRTJ), Redefine Properties (JO:RDFJ) and Shaftesbury Capital declined 4.6%, 2.6%, 2.0% and 0.7%, respectively.
- Platinum miners, Impala Platinum (JO:IMPJ) and Anglo American Platinum (JO:AMSJ) (JO:AGLJ) shed 2.2% and 0.7%, respectively.
- Food companies, Famous Brands (JO:FBRJ) and Astral Foods (JO:ARLJ) fell 1.4% and 1.2%, respectively.
- Lenders, Standard Bank Group (JO:SBKJ) and Nedbank Group (JO:NEDJ) eased 1.4% and 0.9%, respectively.
- On the flipside, retailers, SPAR Group (JO:SPPJ), Foschini Group (JO:TFGJ), Clicks Group (JO:CLSJ) and Shoprite Holdings (JO:SHPJ) advanced 1.7%, 1.5%, 1.2% and 1.0%, respectively.
- The JSE All Share index declined 0.4% to close at 70,274.38.
UK MARKET REVIEW
- The UK market finished firmer yesterday, boosted by gains in mining and pharmaceutical sector stocks.
- Banking firm, Lloyds Banking Group (LON:LLOY) jumped 2.2%, after the company posted higher profits in 3Q23 and maintained its annual guidance.
- Miners, Rio Tinto (LON:RIO), Antofagasta (LON:ANTO) and Glencore (LON:GLEN) (JO:GLNJ) advanced 1.9%, 1.4% and 1.2%, respectively, as copper prices climbed following China's fresh stimulus measures.
- Pharmaceutical companies, AstraZeneca (LON:AZN) and GSK (LON:GSK) gained 1.0% and 0.9%, respectively.
- On the other hand, consumer goods company, Reckitt Benckiser Group (LON:PSN) dropped 4.0%, after the company reported weaker than expected like-for-like sales amid drop in volumes.
- The FTSE 100 index advanced 0.3% to close at 7,414.34.
US MARKET REVIEW
- US markets ended lower yesterday, amid surge in the US Treasury yields and led by losses in technology sector stocks.
- Google parent, Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) edged down 9.5%, after the company reported lower than expected cloud services revenue.
- Technology companies, Intel (NASDAQ:INTC), Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) and Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) dropped 5.1%, 3.5% and 1.4%, respectively.
- Airplanes company, Boeing (NYSE:BA) declined 2.5%, after the company reported wider losses in 3Q23.
- On the contrary, food companies, Hormel Foods Corporation (NYSE:HRL), Campbell Soup (NYSE:CPB) and General Mills (NYSE:GIS) advanced 3.8%, 3.3% and 3.1%, respectively.
- The S&P 500 index fell 1.4% to settle at 4,186.77, while the DJIA index declined 0.3% to close at 33,035.93.
- The NASDAQ index eased 2.4% to end the trading session at 12,821.23.
ASIA MARKET REVIEW
- Asian markets are trading lower this morning, tracking overnight losses on Wall Street.
- In Japan, banking company, SoftBank Group (TYO:9984) has dropped 4.2%.
- On the flipside, electricity company, Chubu Electric Power (TYO:9502) had added 0.5%.
- In Hong Kong, real estate company, Hang Lung Properties (OTC:HLPPY) had declined 4.5%.
- On the other hand, consumer electronics company, Xiaomi Corporation (HK:1810) has advanced 1.7%.
- In South Korea, chemical company, ISU Specialty Chemical (KS:457190) has shed 8.3%.
- On the contrary, Maniker (KS:027740) has jumped 8.8%.
- The Nikkei 225 index is trading 2.1% lower at 30,602.44.
- The Hang Seng index has eased 0.9% to trade at 16,937.39, while the Kospi index is trading 2.2% lower at 2,310.78.
COMMODITIES
- At 05:30 SAST today, Brent prices fell 0.3% to trade at $89.84/bl.
- Yesterday, Brent prices rose 2.3% to settle at $90.13/bl, amid ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict. Meanwhile, the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported that the US crude inventories advanced by 1.37mn bls in the week ended 20 October 2023.
- At 05:30 SAST today, gold prices advanced 0.1% to trade at $1,984.99/oz. Yesterday, gold gained 0.7% to close at $1,983.03/oz, as geopolitical tensions in the Middle East raised demand for the safe haven yellow metal.
- Yesterday, copper rose 0.6% to close at $7,945.65/mt. Aluminium closed 1.2% higher at $2,214.35/mt.
CURRENCIES
- Yesterday, the South African rand weakened against the US dollar. In the US, new home sales jumped to a 19-month high in September. Meanwhile, the number of MBA mortgage applications declined in the week ended 20 October 2023.
- The yield on benchmark government bonds fell yesterday. The yield on the 2030 bond declined to 10.63% while that for the longer-dated 2040 issue fell to 12.80%.
- At 05:30 SAST, the US dollar is trading 0.3% higher against the South African rand at R19.1941, while the euro is trading 0.1% higher at R20.2341. At 05:30 SAST, the British pound has gained 0.1% against the South African rand to trade at R23.184.
- Yesterday, the euro mostly advanced against most of the major currencies. In Germany, the Ifo business sentiment improved more than expected in October.
- At 05:30 SAST, the euro slipped 0.2% against the US dollar to trade at $1.0546, while it has gained 0.1% against the British pound to trade at GBP0.8730.
ECONOMIC UPDATES
- In Switzerland, the ZEW survey expectations fell to -37.80 in October, compared to -27.60 in the previous month.
- In Germany, the Ifo business climate index rose to a level of 86.90 in October, more than market expectations for a rise to a level of 85.90. The Ifo business climate index had recorded a revised level of 85.80 in the prior month.
- In Germany, the Ifo current assessment index unexpectedly rose to a level of 89.20 in October, compared to a level of 88.70 recorded in the previous month.
- In Germany, the Ifo business expectations index advanced to a level of 84.70 in October, more than market expectations and compared to a revised level of 83.10 in the previous month.
- In the US, the MBA mortgage applications dropped 1.0% in the week ended 20 October 2023, compared to a drop of 6.9% recorded in the previous week.
- In the US, new home sales climbed 12.3% on a MoM basis in September, compared to a revised fall of 8.2% recorded in the previous month.
- The Bank of Canada (BoC) kept its key interest rate unchanged at 5.0%, in line with expectations.
- In Japan, the leading economic index fell to a level of 109.20 in August, compared to a level of 109.50 recorded in the previous month.
CORPORATE UPDATES
SOUTH AFRICA
- Life Healthcare Group Limited (JO:LHCJ): The pharmaceutical company, in its annual trading and operational update, revealed that it has achieved revenue growth of between 7.0% to 13.0% from continuing operations. The company recorded strong activity growth from its acute and complementary services with paid patient days (PPDs) growing by 9.5%. Moreover, group normalized EBITDA from continuing operations increased by between 1% to 6% and the margin is expected to be between 15% to 17% compared with 16.8% in FY22.
- Brent holds steady above $88: Oil benchmark Brent held above $88 as the concern about war escalating in the Middle East offset demand worries stemming from gloomy economic prospects in Europe.