The JSE ended in the red, with the JSE All Share and Top-40 indices down 0.61% and 0.53% respectively as the stricter Covid-19 lockdown regulations wreaked havoc among travel and leisure and retail stocks.
JSE heavyweights Naspers (+1.74%), which broke a six-day losing streak, and British American Tobacco SA (+1.81%) helped curb the bleeding.
Reuters reports the travel and leisure index tumbled 7.53% to a one-month low and recorded its biggest daily decline in just over a year, with City Lodge, Tsogo Sun Gaming, Tsogo Sun Hotels and Sun International down between 6.70% and 9.83%
In the currency markets the rand, which initially weakened almost 1% to R14.27 against the US dollar on the lockdown level 4 announcement, pulled back to settle down 0.44% around the R14.20-level by local markets close.
TreasuryONE described trade in the local unit as “uneventful”, with the currency effectively trading in a 10 cent range for most of the day. According to the forex specialists the rand is still firmly locked in the R14.00 to R14.40 range, and it will take some risk or data event for it to move out of the range.
The basket of emerging market currencies moved sideways in unison with the US dollar, which failed to break 1.19 against the euro. The US dollar is eyeing the US non-farm number on Friday for direction, and TreasuryONE expects the currency to stay within ranges up until then.
The lacklustre trading in the US currency filtered through to the equity market, with the Dow Jones and S&P 500 also struggling to get out of bed, writes TreasuryONE. “We expect the market to drift in current ranges for the evening session and expect the market to be around the same levels when we enter the ‘office’ tomorrow.”
In the commodities market, gold held steady around $1,780/oz, with platinum down 1.6% and palladium up 1.3%. Brent Crude was trading at $ 75.37 a barrel.
Indicators as of 17:00
Currencies
USDZAR 14.2108
EURUSD 1.1925
EURZAR 16.9413
GBPUSD 1.3891
GBPZAR 19.7314
AUDZAR 10.7543
CADZAR 11.5154
CNYZAR 2.1999
ZARJPY 7.7793
CHFZAR 15.4519
USDAOA 651.56
Equities and bonds
R186 7.42%
US 10 Year 1.49%
JSE -0.58%
FTSE -0.77%
S&P 500 -0.01%
Commodities
Gold $1 779.66
Plat $1 092.26
Plad $2 664.11
Rhod $19 490.00
Irid $5 890.00
Ruth $748.00
Copp $9 333.70
Brent $75.44
Iron Ore 62.5% $214.17
Coal API4 $116.00
Gold ZAR R25 275.98
Plat ZAR R15 513.04
Indicators brought to you by TreasuryONE
