The JSE jumped 1.83% on a run in tech heavyweights Naspers and Prosus and as PGM counters pushed forward amid a 4% surge in palladium.
Northam Platinum led the charge with a 10.85% gain, followed by Implats (+8.97%), Royal Bafokeng (+8.65%) and Angloplat (+7.2%). Kumba Iron Ore, which appointed its first female CEO this week, gained 6.27%, while steelmaker Arcelor Mittal soared 6.47%.
Tracking a rally in Chinese tech stocks listed in the US amid a rebound in peers in Asia on improved risk appetite, Naspers (+5.18%) and subsidiary Prosus (+5.28%), through which it has 29% exposure to Tencent, mirrored a more than 5% gain in the Chinese tech behemoth. Naspers and Prosus together account for 13% of the JSE All Share index’s market capitalisation.
Gold counters tracked the firmer gold price, with Sibanye Stillwater adding 6.18%, Goldfields 4.35%, Randgold 3.30%, African Rainbow 2.93% and Harmony 4.62%.
Energy counters Sasol (-3.14%) and Thungela Resources (-5.59%) were among the biggest losers, despite Brent oil holding firm around $82 a barrel.
In the currency markets, a see-saw day of movement in the rand ended with the local unit closing 0.5% stronger. “The rand traded just above R15.00 shortly after local markets opened but firmed all the way to the low R14.80s earlier this afternoon. The risk-on move in emerging markets does seem odd and is somewhat surprising ahead of tomorrow’s payroll numbers, but it can also be seen across equities markets today,” comments TreasuryONE.
The local unit was last changing hands at R14.94 against the greenback.
The focus for forex markets now turns to September payroll figures out tomorrow afternoon.
Indicators as at 17:00
Currencies
USDZAR 14.8916
EURUSD 1.1561
EURZAR 17.2110
GBPUSD 1.3621
GBPZAR 20.2777
AUDZAR 10.8810
CADZAR 11.8613
CNYZAR 2.3086
ZARJPY 7.4872
CHFZAR 16.0577
USDAOA 597.33
Bonds and equities
R186 7.80%
US 10 Year 1.56%
JSE 1.91%
FTSE 1.32%
S&P 500 1.42%
Commodities
Gold $1 757.56
Plat $993.51
Plad $1 977.72
Rhod $14 290.00
Irid $4 890.00
Ruth $648.00
Copp $9 176.85
Brent $81.58
Iron Ore 62.5% $117.68
Coal API4 $228.00
Gold ZAR R26 152.49
Plat ZAR R14 783.43
