Mining counters weighed heavily on the local stock performance, dragging the main JSE All Share index 0.48% into the red.
Implats (-6.86%) took a beating despite tracking Angloplat and Sibanye Stillwater in record payouts to investors and propping up government coffers with about R13bn by announcing a fourfold increase in its final dividend to R9.8bn or R12 a share. Annual profit almost tripled to R47bn. CEO Nico Muller, however, cautioned that the palladium supply deficit may persist until around 2025 and thereafter prices could soften to about $1,500/oz.
Angloplat (-4.33%) and Royal Bafokeng and Northam (both down -4.63%) followed suit amid a weak PGM price performance, with palladium plunging 1.64% and platinum 0.65%.
Gold counters also lost shine on the back of a weaker gold price (-0.25% to last trade at $1,811.45/oz), with Harmony losing 6.10%, South32 6.96%, Gold Fields 3.94%, DRDGold 3.91% and Sibanye Stillwater 3.86%.
Diversified miners were mixed, with Anglo American dipping 4.33% and Glencore and BHP gaining 2.60% and 1.30% respectively.
Discovery was also among the biggest losers, diving 7.80% after scrapping its annual dividend and saying it may have to raise equity capital to cover costs linked to its investment in China’s Ping An. In a separate announcement the insurer said it plans to introduce a mandatory vaccine policy from January 2022.
Aspen Pharmacare received a 4.93% boost after saying it was in talks to make Johnson & Johnson’s coronavirus shot under licence in South Africa in what would be the continent’s first major independent distribution base for a global vaccine against Covid-19.
Mix Telematics (+7.03%), Steinhoff (+4.88%), RCK Foods (+4.59%) and Motus (+4.30%) were among the top gainers.
In the currency markets the rand flirted with the R14.30-level against the US dollar in earlier trade but turned south in late afternoon trade to last change hands at R14.48/$. That aside, the local unit remains the best performing emerging currency being 3% stronger than its nearest peer. TreasuryONE expects the rand to consolidate after running hard the past ten days as we head into the US non-farm number tomorrow.
Indicators as at 17:00
Currencies
USDZAR 14.3864
EURUSD 1.1865
EURZAR 17.0644
GBPUSD 1.3829
GBPZAR 19.8890
AUDZAR 10.6471
CADZAR 11.4416
CNYZAR 2.2273
ZARJPY 7.6441
CHFZAR 15.7233
USDAOA 632.70
Bonds and equities
R186 7.30%
US 10 Year 1.30%
JSE -0.72%
FTSE 0.09%
S&P 500 0.34%
Commodities
Gold $1 812.29
Plat $1 003.50
Plad $2 411.49
Rhod $17 190.00
Irid $5 190.00
Ruth $693.00
Copp $9 347.00
Brent $73.33
Iron Ore 62.5% $143.08
Coal API4 $151.50
Gold ZAR R26 064.54
Plat ZAR R14 432.44
Indicators brought to you by TreasuryONE
