The JSE ended a volatile week in the green, gaining 0.86% as mining counters stepped into the limelight as metals prices surged following Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s assurance to the market that the withdrawal of stimulus would be gradual.
Bloomberg reports Powell said the central bank could begin reducing its monthly bond purchases this year, though it won’t be in a hurry to begin raising interest rates thereafter.
The market today bears testimony that the old saying “buy the rumour and sell the fact” definitely holds true, with investors dumping the dollar after Powell highlighted that rate hikes and tapering should not be linked together, comments TreasuryONE.
The local unit gained more than 20c on the general dovish tone to trade back at levels before last week when taper talk spooked markets, with the rand last changing hands at R14.73 to the US unit.
Commodities rallied on the Fed comments, with gold gaining 1.45%, platinum 2.65% and palladium 1.18%. Six of the 10 top gainers were commodity stocks, with Angloplat (+5.32%), Royal Bafokeng (+3.52%), Northam (+3.14%) and Implats (+2.52%) tracking the higher PGM prices.
Gold counters also gained, with Harmony and Sibanye adding 4.22% and 3.38% respectively. Gold Fields added 2.06% after the miner said it would consider joint ventures to bolster output.
Retail stock Woolworths gained 6.19% after posting positive annual results after markets close yesterday in which it restored its dividend and slashed debt by 91%. It also revealed growth plans to take on rising star Checkers. Shoprite dipped 0.57%.
Peer Massmart slumped 3.13% after reporting it lost R1.3bn in the July looting and announced plans to sell its Game stores in West and East Africa to stem losses in that struggling business. The general merchandise retailer said this week it entered into negotiations to buy a controlling stake in OneCart to boost its online operations.
Embattled retailer Steinhoff extended gains, adding 2.1% after reporting a 15% rise in sales for the nine-months to end-June, as Covid-19 lockdown restrictions reduced throughout the period across its markets.
Sasol (+1.83%) tracked the higher oil price. Brent is currently trading at $72.18 a barrel.
Indicators as at 17:00
Currencies
USDZAR 14.7529
EURUSD 1.1783
EURZAR 17.3782
GBPUSD 1.3742
GBPZAR 20.2674
AUDZAR 10.7546
CADZAR 11.6755
CNYZAR 2.2783
ZARJPY 7.4512
CHFZAR 16.1415
USDAOA 633.73
Equities and bonds
R186 7.34%
US 10 Year 1.32%
JSE 0.80%
FTSE 0.25%
S&P 500 0.61%
Commodities
Gold $1 807.91
Plat $1 003.81
Plad $2 423.30
Rhod $17 390.00
Irid $5 190.00
Ruth $723.00
Copp $9 351.85
Brent $72.30
Iron Ore 62.5% $159.63
Coal API4 $141.00
Gold ZAR R26 663.60
Plat ZAR R14 804.46
Indicators brought to you by TreasuryONE
