The JSE closed up a firm 1.27%, buoyed by, among others, bourse-heavyweight Naspers’ 1.88% gain as the internet giant explores growth opportunities outside its core offerings. Naspers announced late yesterday that it invested R34m in Paarl-based Ctrl, its first insurance gamble, as part of its R1.4 billion commitment to grow early-stage tech companies through its tech investment vehicle, Naspers Foundry.
Also boosting the stock was Chinese gaming and social media giant Tencent’s shopping spree in its bid to take on Microsoft, Sony and other top-tier video game companies. Naspers holds a 29% stake through its subsidiary Prosus (+1.75%).
Another tech play, Bytes Technologies, jumped 4.57% after it told its AGM that it made a positive start to fiscal 2022, with “encouraging signs” that corporate spending had picked up.
Mr Price (+4.48%) lead the retail charge as it picked up the pieces from last week’s unrest and looting in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng, with peers Pick n Pay (+0.85%), Click (+1.41%) and Truworths (+2.29%) all in the green. Logistics firm Barloworld (+3.33%) also had a good run.
The rand, the only emerging market currency that came under pressure today, suffered a significant blow, dropping to R14.75 against the US dollar following the Reserve Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee’s decision to keep interest steady at 3.5%.
“The feeling is that growth in South Africa could be suppressed by local factors, which will not be conducive for rates hikes in the future,” comments TreasuryONE.
The currency was last changing hands at R14.72 to the greenback on renewed “risk-off” in the unit. TreasuryONE sees R14.77 as the critical level that needs to hold.
On the commodities front, palladium moved back above $2,650, advancing more than 1% to last trade at $2,692/oz. Gold and platinum were steady at $1,803 and $1,082 respectively. Brent Crude is trading back above $70 a barrel after the sell-off earlier in the week and is currently trading at $72.64.
Indicators as at 17:00
Currencies
USDZAR 14.6775
EURUSD 1.1792
EURZAR 17.3025
GBPUSD 1.3757
GBPZAR 20.1858
AUDZAR 10.8317
CADZAR 11.6703
CNYZAR 2.2676
ZARJPY 7.5004
CHFZAR 15.9733
USDAOA 640.00
Equities and bonds
R186 7.44%
US 10 Year 1.26%
JSE 1.36%
FTSE -0.36%
S&P 500 0.17%
Commodities
Gold $1 803.31
Plat $1 082.09
Plad $2 691.83
Rhod $18 690.00
Irid $5 590.00
Ruth $748.00
Copp $9 382.50
Brent $72.50
Iron Ore 62.5% $218.37
Coal API4 $131.50
Gold ZAR R26 463.39
Plat ZAR R15 879.56
Indicators brought to you by TreasuryONE
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