SOUTH AFRICA MARKET REVIEW
- South African markets closed in the green on Friday, led by gains in mining sector stocks.
- Diversified miners, Anglo American (JO:AGLJ), Kumba Iron Ore (JO:KIOJ) and Pan African Resources (JO:PANJ) advanced 4.8%, 1.6% and 0.8%, respectively.
- Gold miners, Harmony Gold Mining Co. (JO:HARJ), Gold Fields (JO:GFIJ) and AngloGold Ashanti (JO:ANGJ) gained 3.2%, 1.6% and 0.5%, respectively.
- Retailers, Cashbuild (JO:CSBJ), Foschini Group (JO:TFGJ) and Pick ‘n Pay Stores (JO:PIKJ) rose 3.2%, 1.9% and 1.8%, respectively.
- Food companies, Famous Brands (JO:FBRJ) and Astral (JO:ARLJ) Food added 2.0% and 1.0%, respectively.
- On the flipside, property developers, Redefine Properties (JO:RDFJ), Growthpoint Properties (JO:GRTJ) and Lighthouse properties (JO:LTEJ) dropped 1.7%, 0.9% and 0.6%, respectively.
- The JSE All Share index advanced 0.5% to close at 81,120.51.
UK MARKET REVIEW
- The UK market finished firmer on Friday, following upbeat corporate earnings results.
- Banking company, NatWest Group (LON:NWG) jumped 7.0%, after the company raised its outlook and bought a GBP2.40bn ($3.10bn) mortgage book from Metro Bank.
- Retailers, Burberry Group (LON:BRBY), JD Sports Fashion (LON:JD) and J Sainsbury (LON:SBRY) jumped 4.2%, 3.3% and 1.7%, respectively.
- Defense and aerospace companies, Rolls-Royce Holdings (LON:RR) and BAE Systems (LON:BAES) advanced 2.5% and 1.8%, respectively.
- Pharmaceutical companies, GSK (LON:GSK) and AstraZeneca (LON:AZN) gained 1.9% and 1.0%, respectively.
- Energy utilities companies, SSE (LON:SSE), Centrica (LON:CNA) and National Grid (LON:NG) rose 1.7%, 1.6% and 1.1%, respectively.
- The FTSE 100 index advanced 1.2% to close at 8,285.71.
US MARKET REVIEW
- US markets ended higher on Friday, led by gains in technology sector stocks and as US inflation data raised hopes that the US Federal Reserve might cut interest rates soon.
- Technology companies, Salesforce (NYSE:CRM), Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) and Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) advanced 2.4%, 1.6%, 1.4% and 0.8%, respectively.
- Financial services companies, American Express (NYSE:AXP), Visa (NYSE:V), JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) and Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) gained 2.4%, 2.3%, 1.7% and 1.5%, respectively.
- Retailers, Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT), Kroger (NYSE:KR) Co. and Dollar Tree (NASDAQ:DLTR) rose 1.9%, 1.8% and 1.3%, respectively.
- The S&P 500 index rose 1.1% to settle at 5,459.10, while the DJIA index advanced 1.6% to close at 40,589.34.
- The NASDAQ index climbed 1.0% to end the trading session at 17,357.88.
ASIA MARKET REVIEW
- Asian markets are trading higher this morning.
- In Japan, automobile company, Mitsubishi Motors (TYO:7211) has jumped 6.1%.
- On the flipside, industrial automation and inspection equipment company, Keyence Corporation (TYO:6861) has declined 1.7%.
- In Hong Kong, consumer electronics company, Xiaomi Corporation (HK:1810) has gained 2.2%.
- On the other hand, internet technology company, NetEase (NASDAQ:NTES) has shed 2.9%.
- In South Korea, cosmetics company, Hankook Cosmetics (KS:003350) Manufacturing Co. has surged 9.9%.
- On the contrary, petrochemical company, Kumho Petro Chemical (KS:011780) has dropped 4.5%.
- The Nikkei 225 index is trading 2.0% higher at 38,437.39.
- The Hang Seng index has gained 1.1% to trade at 17,204.32, while the Kospi index is trading 1.2% higher at 2,766.09.
COMMODITIES
- At 05:30 SAST today, Brent prices rose 0.1% to trade at $81.25/bl.
- On Friday, Brent prices fell 1.5% to settle at $81.13/bl, amid a drop in Chinese demand and optimism over a potential Gaza ceasefire agreement, that would ease concerns about Middle East supply disruptions. Additionally, the Baker Hughes reported that oil rigs count rose by 5 to 482 in the week ended 26 July 2024.
- At 05:30 SAST today, gold prices advanced 0.3% to trade at $2,392.89/oz. On Friday, gold gained 0.9% to close at $2,385.57/oz.
- On Friday, copper declined 0.1% to close at $8,995.25/mt. Aluminium closed 0.2% higher at $2,279.65/mt.
CURRENCIES
- On Friday, the South African rand strengthened against the US dollar. In the US, the Michigan consumer sentiment index eased in July to an eight-month low as high prices continued to weigh on attitudes about personal finances.
- The yield on benchmark government bonds fell on Friday. The yield on the 2030 bond declined to 9.42%, while that for the longer-dated 2040 issue fell to 11.49%.
- At 05:30 SAST, the US dollar is trading 0.1% lower against the South African rand at R18.2763, while the euro is trading slightly higher at R19.8603. At 05:30 SAST, the British pound has gained 0.1% against the South African rand to trade at R23.5505.
- On Friday, the euro mostly declined against most of the major currencies.
- At 05:30 SAST, the euro advanced 0.1% against the US dollar to trade at $1.0868, while it has marginally weakened against the British pound to trade at GBP0.8435.
ECONOMIC UPDATES
- In France, consumer confidence index advanced to a level 91.00 in July, more than market expectations and compared to a revised level of 90.00 in the prior month.
- In Spain, retail sales rose 0.3% on a YoY basis in June, compared to 0.2% recorded in the prior month.
- In Italy, the business confidence index rose to a level of 87.60 in July, more than market expectations for a rise to a level of 87.00. The business confidence index had recorded a level of 86.80 in the prior month.
- In Italy, the consumer confidence index unexpectedly rose to a level of 98.90 in July, compared to a level of 98.30 recorded in the prior month.
- In the US, the Michigan consumer sentiment index unexpectedly rose to a level of 66.40 in July, compared to a level of 66.00 recorded in the prior month.
CORPORATE UPDATES
SOUTH AFRICA
- Packing volumes boost Bowler Metcalf (JO:BCFJ) profits: The shares of Bowler Metcalf rose to their highest level in two and a half years after the packaging specialist advised shareholders to anticipate an up to two-thirds jump in earnings for the year ended June, thanks to increases in packing volumes.