South Africa Market Review
- South African markets closed in the green yesterday, led by gains in mining and banking sector stocks.
- Platinum miners, Northam Platinum (JO:NHMJ), Impala Platinum Holdings (JO:IMPJ), Anglo American Platinum (JO:AMSJ) and Royal Bafokeng Platinum (JO:RBPCBe) gained 4.1%, 2.9%, 2.5% and 2.4%, respectively.
- Gold mining companies, AngloGold Ashanti (JO:ANGJ), Sibanye Stillwater (JO:SSWJ), Gold Fields (JO:GFIJ) and Harmony Gold Mining Company (JO:HARJ) climbed 3.0%, 2.6%, 2.4% and 1.8%, respectively.
- Retailers, Lewis Group (JO:LEWJ), Cashbuild (JO:CSBJ) and Clicks Group (JO:CLSJ) edged up 2.6%, 1.9% and 1.4%, respectively.
- Lenders, Capitec Bank Holdings (JO:CPIJ), Absa Group (JO:ABGJ), RMB Holdings (JO:RMHJ) and Nedbank Group (JO:NEDJ) added 2.3%, 2.1%, 2.0% and 1.3%, respectively.
- Real estate companies, Attacq (JO:ATTJ) and Fortress REIT (JO:FFAJ) advanced 2.3% and 1.4%, respectively.
- The JSE All Share index advanced 1.0% to close at 76,047.34.
UK Market Review
- The UK market finished firmer yesterday, amid gains in commodity sector stocks. BP (LON:BP) advanced 2.4%, after the oil company and Abu Dhabi National Oil made a collaborative offer to acquire 50% of NewMed Energy for approximately $2.00bn.
- Peer, Shell (LON:RDSa) gained 1.4%. Miners, Glencore (LON:GLEN), Rio Tinto (LON:RIO) and Antofagasta (LON:ANTO) added 2.1%, 2.0% and 0.9%, respectively, in line with rise in metal prices.
- Halma (LON:HLMA) rose 0.5%, after the company bought FirePro for EUR150.00mn on a cash and debt free basis.
- On the contrary, TUI (LON:TUIT) plunged 12.6%, after the company announced a rights issue to raise EUR1.8bn at a sharply discounted price.
- The FTSE 100 index added 0.2% to close at 7,484.25.
US Market Review
- US markets ended lower yesterday, as higher Treasury yields led to a selloff in technology stocks.
- Insurance companies, American Express (NYSE:AXP) and UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) declined 2.4% and 1.9%, respectively.
- Pharmaceutical companies, Merck & Company (NYSE:MRK) and Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) eased 1.3% and 1.0%, respectively.
- Media and entertainment company, Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) fell 0.8%, after the company announced that it would cut 7,000 jobs starting this week.
- On the flipside, Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) advanced 2.7%, after the company reported upbeat profits in 2Q23.
- The S&P 500 index fell 0.2% to settle at 3,971.27, while the DJIA index declined 0.1% to close at 32,394.25.
- The NASDAQ index eased 0.4% to end the trading session at 11,716.08.
Asia Market Review
- Asian markets are trading mostly higher this morning, as concerns over banking crisis faded.
- In Japan, banking firm, SoftBank Group Corporation (TYO:9984) has gained 5.1%.
- On the other hand, transport company, Nippon Yusen K.K. (TYO:9101) has declined 1.1%.
- In Hong Kong, Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) has jumped 13.2%, after announcing a reorganization of the company that will split its company into six different units.
- On the contrary, pharmaceutical company, CSPC Pharmaceutical Group (HK:1093) has fell 1.6%.
- In South Korea, semiconductor company, Hanmi Semiconductor (KS:042700) has dropped 1.4%.
- The Nikkei 225 index is trading 0.4% higher at 27,625.99.
- The Hang Seng index has advanced 2.1% to trade at 20,202.32, while the Kospi index is trading 0.2% lower at 2,431.08.
Commodities
- At 05:30 SAST today, Brent spot prices fell 0.2% to trade at $77.79/bl.
- Yesterday, Brent spot prices rose 1.2% to settle at $77.97/bl, amid supply disruption risks from Iraqi Kurdistan and as worries over banking turmoil eased.
- Yesterday, the Illinois North Central No.2 Yellow corn spot prices fell 0.1% to $6.67/bushel.
- At 05:30 SAST today, gold prices declined 0.4% to trade at $1,966.48/oz. Yesterday, gold gained 0.9% to close at $1,973.54/oz, as a weaker dollar boosted demand for the safe haven metal.
- Yesterday, copper rose 0.2% to close at $8,968.25/mt. Aluminium closed 1.1% higher at $2,345.50/mt.
Currencies
- Yesterday, the South African rand ended higher against the US Dollar. In South Africa, non-farm payrolls advanced in 4Q22. Separately, in the US, goods trade deficit widened in February. Meanwhile, the nation’s consumer confidence improved in March.
- 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 9.89%.
- At 05:30 SAST, the US dollar is trading 0.2% higher against the South African rand at R18.1880, while the euro is trading 0.2% higher at R19.7060. At 05:30 SAST, the British pound has gained 0.1% against the South African rand to trade at R22.413.
- Yesterday, the euro declined against most of the major currencies.
- At 05:30 SAST, the euro slipped 0.1% against the US dollar to trade at $1.0836, while it has gained 0.1% against the British pound to trade at GBP0.8793.
Economic Updates
- In South Africa, non-farm payrolls recorded a rise of 0.5% on a QoQ basis in 4Q22. In the previous quarter, non-farm payrolls had dropped by a revised 0.5%.
- In France, the industrial business climate index eased to 104.00 in March. In the prior month, the industrial business climate index had registered a revised level of 105.00.
- In Italy, the business confidence index unexpectedly advanced to a level of 104.20 in March, compared to a revised level of 103.00 in the prior month. Market anticipations were for the index to ease to a level of 102.50.
- In Italy, the consumer confidence index recorded an unexpected rise to 105.10 in March, compared to a level of 104.00 recorded in the prior month.
- In the US, goods trade deficit widened to $91.63 billion in February, following deficit of $90.10 billion in the prior month.
- In the US, the housing price index rose 0.2% on a MoM basis in January, compared to market expectations for a drop of 0.6%. The housing price index had registered a drop of 0.1% in the prior month.
- In the US, the S&P/Case-Shiller home price index climbed 2.5% on a YoY basis in January, compared to a rise of 4.6% in the prior month.
- In the US, the Richmond Fed manufacturing index climbed to -5.00 in March, compared to a level of -16.00 in the previous month. Market anticipations were for the Richmond Fed manufacturing index to advance to a level of -7.00.
- In the US, the consumer confidence index rose unexpectedly to a level of 104.20 in March. In the prior month, the consumer confidence index had recorded a revised level of 103.40.
- In Australia, the consumer price index (CPI) rose 6.8% on a YoY basis in February, less than market expectations for a rise of 7.1%. In the prior month, the CPI had advanced 7.4%.
Corporate Updates
South Africa
- Metair Investments Limited (JO:MTAJ): The motor vehicle components company, in its trading update for the year ended 31 December 2022, stated that the group expects loss per share of between 18.00c and 25.00c compared to an EPS of 350.00c for the previous corresponding period. Headline loss per share is expected to be between 14.00c and 21.00c compared to HEPS of 354.00c for the previous year.
- EOH Holdings Limited (JO:EOHJ): The information technology services company, in its trading statement for the six months ended 31 January 2023, announced that revenue from continuing operations is expected to be between 5% to 10% higher as compared to the six months ended 31 January 2022, with strong growth in the iOCO Digital and International operations. Operating profit is expected to be between R100.00mn and R120.00mn, following an operating profit from continuing operations of R100.00mn in the prior year. Further, the company intends to release its interim results on 5 April 2023.