Market Review, Corporate Updates, Commodities & Currencies - 14.02.23

South Africa Market Review

South African markets closed in the green yesterday, boosted by gains in mining and industrial sector stocks.
Platinum miners, Northam Platinum (JO: NHMJ ), Impala Platinum (JO: IMPJ ) and Anglo American Platinum (JO: AMSJ ) climbed 3.8%, 3.2% and 1.9%, respectively.
Retailers, Mr Price Group (JO: MRPJ ), Clicks Group (JO: CLSJ ) and SPAR Group (JO: SPPJ ) gained 2.6%, 2.3% and 2.2%, respectively.
Pharmaceutical companies, Netcare (JO: NTCJ ), Life Healthcare (JO: LHCJ ) and Aspen Pharmacare (JO: APNJ ) advanced 1.8%, 1.3% and 0.9%, respectively.
Lenders, Capitec Bank Holdings (JO: CPIJ ) and FirstRand (JO: FSRJ ) rose 1.7% and 0.9%, respectively.
Diversified miners, Exxaro Resources (JO: EXXJ ), African Rainbow Minerals (JO: ARIJ ) and Kumba Iron Ore (JO: KIOJ ) added 1.5%, 1.1% and 1.0%, respectively.
The JSE All Share index advanced 1.0% to close at 79,770.21.

The UK market finished firmer yesterday, amid gains in defence sector stocks.
Aerospace companies, Rolls-Royce (LON: RR ) and BAE Systems (LON: BAES ) climbed 1.8% and 1.6%, respectively, after Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi set out plans to more than triple annual defence exports to $5.00bn by 2024/25.
Retailers, Burberry Group (LON: BRBY ) and JD Sports Fashion (LON: JD ) advanced 1.5% and 1.2%, respectively.
Paper and packaging companies, DS Smith (LON: SMDS ), Mondi (LON: MNDI ) and Smurfit Kappa Group (LON: SKG ) gained 1.4%, 1.3% and 1.2%, respectively.
On the other hand, real estate companies, Barratt Developments (LON: BDEV ) and Berkeley Group (LON: BKGH ) Holdings shed 2.7% and 1.8%, respectively.
The FTSE 100 index advanced 0.8% to close at 7,947.60.

US markets ended higher yesterday, as investors await inflation data due this week.
Media and entertainment companies, Warner Bros Discovery (NASDAQ: WBD ) and Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX ) climbed 4.9% and 3.2%, respectively.
Technology companies, Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT ), Intel (NASDAQ: INTC ), Salesforce (NYSE: CRM ) and Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL ) gained 3.1%, 2.7%, 2.4% and 1.9%, respectively.
Restaurant chain companies, Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE: CMG ) and McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE: MCD ) rose 1.9% and 1.4%, respectively.
Financial services companies, American Express (NYSE: AXP ), JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM ) and Visa (NYSE: V ) advanced 1.2%, 1.1% and 0.7%, respectively.
The S&P 500 index rose 1.1% to settle at 4,137.29, while the DJIA index advanced 1.1% to close at 34,245.93.
The NASDAQ index climbed 1.5% to end the trading session at 11,891.79.

Asian markets are trading higher this morning, tracking overnight gains on Wall Street.
In Japan, transportation company, Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha (TYO: 9107 ) has advanced 2.7%.
On the flipside, automobile company, Yamaha Motor Company (TYO: 7272 ) has declined 1.9%.
In Hong Kong, pharmaceutical company, Sino Biopharmaceutical (HK: 1177 ) has shed 2.2%.
On the other hand, real estate company, Henderson Land Development Company (HK: 0012 ) has gained 1.4%.
In South Korea, pharmaceutical company, Ilsung Pharmaceutical (KS: 003120 ) has surged 12.1%.
On the contrary, financial services company, JB Financial Group (KS: 175330 ) has dropped 4.0%.
The Nikkei 225 index is trading 0.6% higher at 27,582.57.
The Hang Seng index has gained 0.1% to trade at 21,190.50, while the Kospi index is trading 0.9% higher at 2,473.86.

At 06:00 SAST today, Brent spot prices rose 0.1% to trade at $85.27/bl. Meanwhile, the US government announced that it would release more crude from its Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR).
Yesterday, Brent spot prices fell 0.8% to settle at $85.22/bl, ahead of US consumer inflation data.
Yesterday, the Illinois North Central No.2 Yellow corn spot prices rose 2.0% to $7.16/bushel.
At 06:00 SAST today, gold prices advanced 0.3% to trade at $1,858.15/oz. Yesterday, gold declined 0.6% to close at $1,853.49/oz, as a stronger greenback dented demand for the safe haven yellow metal.
Yesterday, copper rose 1.0% to close at $8,916.50/mt. Aluminium closed 1.1% lower at $2,378.75/mt.

Yesterday, the South African rand strengthened against the US dollar.
The yield on benchmark government bonds were mixed yesterday. The yield on 2026 bond rose to 8.36%. Further, the yield on the longer-dated 2030 issue fell to 9.86%.
At 06:00 SAST, the US dollar is trading 0.1% higher against the South African rand at R17.8715, while the euro is trading 0.2% higher at R19.1823. At 06:00 SAST, the British pound has gained 0.1% against the South African rand to trade at R21.7012.
Yesterday, the euro mostly advanced against most of the major currencies. In the eurozone, the European Commission stated that the economy is expected to advance at a faster pace this year. Meanwhile, the outlook remains weak with inflation and sharp interest-rate increases weighing on economic activity.
At 06:00 SAST, the euro advanced 0.1% against the US dollar to trade at $1.0733, while it has marginally gained against the British pound to trade at GBP0.8839.

In Switzerland, the consumer price index (CPI) rose 0.6% on a MoM basis in January, more than market expectations for a rise of 0.4%. In the previous month, the CPI had dropped 0.2%.
In Japan, flash gross domestic product (GDP) rose 0.2% on a QoQ basis in 4Q22, less than market expectations for a rise of 0.5%. GDP had recorded a drop of 0.2% in the previous quarter.
In Australia, seasonally adjusted Westpac consumer confidence index dropped 6.9% on MoM basis in February, compared to a rise of 5.0% recorded in previous month.
In Australia, the NAB business confidence rose to a level of 6.00 in January, more than market expectations for a rise to a level of 1.00. The NAB business confidence had recorded a level of -1.00 in the previous month.

South Africa

Anglo American Platinum Limited (JO: AMSJ ): The platinum mining company, in its FY22 trading update, revealed that it expects its basic EPS to be between 33.0% and 52.0%, lower as compared with R300.23 recorded in the prior year. Moreover, it expects its HEPS to be between 33% and 52%, lower as compared with R300.42 recorded in the previous year.
Curro Holdings Limited (JO: COHJ ): The independent school network, in its annual trading update, stated that it expects its EPS to be between 35.80c and 44.30c, as compared with 43.30c reported in the previous year. Also, it expects its HEPS to be between 57.40c and 65.50c, as compared with 40.90c recorded in the prior year period.
Oil prices fall as investors focus on short-term demand concerns: Oil prices slumped by about 1.0% as investors focused on short-term demand concerns ahead of key US inflation data.