The JSE hit a new all-time record, adding 0.79% to close at 76,691 points, after investors piled into paper and packaging counters following robust earnings reports from paper makers at home and abroad.
Investors piled into Sappi, which soared as much as 16% before paring gains to end the day up 14.72% after the group posted strong quarterly results. Rival Mondi gained 3.53% after its fellow UK blue-chip rival Smurfit Kappa said it expects to increase prices further this year to recover high costs after bumper demand and a 19% jump in prices charged for packaging products delivered record earnings amid “unprecedented cost inflation” in 2021.
Lending further support were heavyweights Naspers (+2.18%) and Prosus (+2.90%), while Textainer (+5.86%), Richemont (+3.38%), Transaction Capital (+3.53%), Clicks (+2.69%) and South32 (+3.66%) added to the cheer.
Absa lost 0.89% and announced new appointments to its bank’s board.
Banking peers Standard Bank (-0.90%), Nedbank (-0.16%), FirstRand (-0.11%), and Investec (-1.08%) all ended in the red with Capitec (+1.44%) bucking the trend.
On the commodity front, it was a strong day for copper and palladium with both metals trading over 1.5% stronger at $9,978 and $2,270. Platinum and gold remained relatively the same throughout the day, trading at $1,031 and R1,828 respectively.
“Volatility on the oil prices remains relevant, with the pressure the supply concerns currently have on oil and the impact on inflation it will have in the coming months,” comments TreasuryONE. Brent crude is trading at $91.10 a barrel.
On the forex front, the rand dropped as low as R15.28/$ during the day but started to rise again later in the day to trade at R15.31/$ at last count. Markets remain directionless ahead of tomorrow’s US CPI numbers and the local unit is expected to perform similarly tomorrow says TreasuryONE.
Indicators as at 17:00
Source: TreasuryONE
