Asian shares fell on Thursday after the rally previously in the week due to Chinese PMI data showing manufacturing and services activity contracted in March. The JSE followed the downturn, in line with many European markets. Several of them are set for the biggest quarterly drops since the start of 2020.
Today’s stock market excitement was delivered in the Platinum sector. South Africa’s Northam Platinum Holdings increased its half-year profits by 60 percent, as firmer platinum group metal prices helped offset a dip in production, caused by stoppages and absenteeism from covid-19. The stock market, however, had expected more and the share was Thursday’s biggest loser, down by -2.92%.
In the same sector, Platinum producer Tharisa Plc acquired a controlling stake in a project in Zimbabwe, by exercising an option. Tharisa Plc increased its ownership from 26.8 percent to 66.3 percent in the company and announced it would double its output. The share was up by 3.47%.
The Rand continued to strengthen against the dollar. According to TreasuryONE, “the latest weakness of the US dollar helped EM currencies like the Rand to test lower during the day during the early part of yesterday’s trading session. We saw the Rand touch R14.41 before good US data caused an about-turn in the US dollar and caused EM currencies to drift higher. The Rand is currently trading around the R14.60 level, with dollar-dependent moves again on the forefront after ignoring the US dollar for the past few weeks.”
On the commodities, front oil prices fell today after the US announcement stating that the US was considering releasing up to 180 million barrels of petroleum in order to lower fuel prices. The price was down by 4% percent to $107 a barrel.
Gold however continued to rise, mainly due to the Russia-Ukraine war, where demand for the safe-haven metal has increased. Gold increased by 0.45% to $1,941. Palladium increase by over 1% to $2,292 and Platinum decreased by 0.30% to $993.
