The JSE turned south, ending 0.54% in the red as a plunge in platinum and palladium prices weighed on PGM stocks.
The metals are under pressure as “supply chain concerns (chip shortages) are preventing some from adding to PGM hedges on the consumer side. At the same time, funds and traders think the technical looks poor in the short term”, comments TreasuryONE.
Palladium plummeted more than 5% to a 14-month low to below $2,000/oz, while platinum dropped below $950 to last trade at $1,977 and $944 respectively. Gold, on the other hand, traded on the front foot above $1,800/oz after US inflation data came in lower than expected, easing fears that the Federal Reserve will be forced to taper its bond-buying soon.
The rand, which remained robust the last few days despite a firmer dollar and softer commodities, firmed to R14.17 against the US dollar after the inflation print, but weakened sharply in late afternoon trade after investment bank JPMorgan recommended selling the currency. The local unit was last changing hands at R14.30 against the greenback.
Platinum counters were among the biggest losers, with Angloplat (-5.54%), Northam (-4.87%), Royal Bafokeng (-4.33%) and Implats (-3.80%) leading the losses.
Pepkor dropped 7.65% after parent Steinhoff (+3.4%) said it raised R7.3bn from the placement of 370 million shares in the PEP and Ackermans owner to help fund its R25bn settlement proposal with claimants who lost out in its 2017 share price plunge.
Energy plays Montauk (+9.06%) and Vivo (+8.51%) led the gainers, with Aspen Pharmacare (+3.32%), Discovery (+5.82%) and Mediclinic (+4.35%) also clocking healthy gains as investors see the worst of the third Covid wave has passed.
Banks fared well, with Capitec (+6.96%), Standard Bank (2.22%), Absa (0.57%) and Nedbank (0.49%) all gaining.
Gold counters Harmony (+3.97%), Gold Fields (+3.80%) and Anglogold (+1.05%) tracked the firmer gold price. Sibanye Stillwater (-2.03%) bucked the trend.
Sasol slipped 2.2% despite Brent Crude holding firm at $73.69 a barrel.
Indicators as at 17:00
Currencies
USDZAR 14.2757
EURUSD 1.1821
EURZAR 16.8702
GBPUSD 1.3847
GBPZAR 19.7616
AUDZAR 10.4552
CADZAR 11.2559
CNYZAR 2.2148
ZARJPY 7.6778
CHFZAR 15.5175
USDAOA 622.75
Bonds and equities
R186 7.43%
US 10 Year 1.27%
JSE -0.57%
FTSE -0.64%
S&P 500 -0.29%
Commodities
Gold $1 805.86
Plat $942.75
Plad $1 970.38
Rhod $13 590.00
Irid $4 990.00
Ruth $693.00
Copp $9 406.75
Brent $73.67
Iron Ore 62.5% $129.66
Coal API4 $158.38
Gold ZAR R25 758.06
Plat ZAR R13 447.01
Indicators brought to you by TreasuryONE
