The JSE gained for a third straight session on Friday to close a week that saw Naspers and Prosus drag the bourse down early on Monday and Tuesday while the rand showed some strength before the stronger dollar hit back.
The All Share Index added 0.98% to close on 74,848 points.
The rand’s resilience is still very much evident as it broke below the R14.90/$ level today but a stronger dollar saw the local unit move above the R15.00/$ mark in afternoon trade where it is currently trading. The rand will drift sideways going into the evening session, comments TreasuryONE.
Commodities have remained relatively flat today for the first time this week.
“Gold is trading at $1,932, Platinum is back above $1,000 and trading at $1,031 and Palladium at $2,500. Brent Crude rallied last night as news filtered through that any talks between Russia and Ukraine were not going as planned; despite the initial rally, Brent traded sideways for most of the day and is currently trading at $ 106.98 per barrel,” says TreasuryONE.
Anglo American (1.11%) said it plans to target carbon neutrality in its mining operations to boost the country’s renewable electricity output. The company announced a joint deal with Electricite de France SA to develop on-site and off-site solar and wind farms with 3,000 to 5,000 megawatts of production capacity, reports Bloomberg.
Impala Platinum (-0.55%) has increased its stake in Royal Bafokeng Platinum (RBPlat) (-1.91%) to 36.41% as it seeks to gain at least 50% of RBPlat. The latest stake in the company is effective come April 1 with its bid to acquire full control of RBPlat derailed by Northam Platinum who has since acquired a 35% stake in RBPlat.
Investec (-0.39%) said it expected earnings per share to rise as much as 106% when it publishes its annual results in April. Group chief executive Fani Titi said the group’s operating performance had surpassed the pre-covid-19 comparative period and continued growth in revenue.
Banking peers Standard Bank (-0.09%, Nedbank (-0.80%), Absa (-0.69%), and Capitec (-0.61%) all closed lower while FirstRand bucked the trend by adding 0.07%.
