The JSE continued on its downward spiral after closing out September down more than 4% as a wave of global negative sentiment, notably out of China, hits local shares.
The local bourse ended the trading session 0.97% lower on 63,661.02 points after JSE heavyweights with huge exposure to China felt the heat. Naspers and Prosus, which according to Bloomberg together account for 13% of the All Share index’s market capitalisation, lost 0.99% and 2.5% respectively as the regulatory crackdown continues to hammer tech behemoth Tencent, in which Naspers has a 29% exposure through its subsidiary Prosus.
An energy crunch stalling China’s economic growth filtered through to industrial miners and other commodity stocks, with Anglo American closing the day down 0.68% in brisk trade.
A more than 3% drop in both Sasol and British American Tobacco added to the sour mood.
Banks were among the losers, with Capitec falling 1.60%, FirstRand 0.56%, Standard Bank 0.13% and Nedbank 0.88%. Absa (+0.37%) bucked the trend.
There were some light on the economic front, with Absa’s purchasing managers’ index staying in the upper 50s for a second straight month, indicating that South Africa’s factory mood has stabilised from the deadly unrest in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng that disrupted supply chains, industrial output and demand for manufactured goods. Bloomberg reports the further easing of local coronavirus lockdown measures could also lift sentiment.
In the currency markets, the rand held firm under pressure, arresting some of its losses over the week to last trade 1.2% firmer at R14.88 against the US dollar.
“We have seen the US dollar drifting weaker today, which has helped the rand, but it could also be due to some profit-taking. The real litmus test is to see whether this momentum continues on Monday,” comments TreasuryONE.
In the crypto markets, Bitcoin rose to its biggest daily gain since July in a matter of minutes, leaving traders speculating why reports Bloomberg. The largest cryptocurrency by market value rose as much as 10% to $47,884 early in New York trading before paring gains. Other cryptos followed suit, with Ethereum, Litecoin and EOS all gaining.
A weaker US dollar has seen commodities stabilise after a volatile week, with palladium back above $1,900/oz, trading up 0.89% at $1,932. Platinum gained 1.45% to $980 and gold added 0.21% to last trade at $1,761.29. Crude oil traded flat around $78 a barrel.
And in Cape Town, the newly opened Cape Town Stock Exchange got its first listing: Agricultural company TWK Investments listed at R35 a share.
Indicators as at 17:00
Currencies
USDZAR 14.8933
EURUSD 1.1596
EURZAR 17.2651
GBPUSD 1.3536
GBPZAR 20.1535
AUDZAR 10.8033
CADZAR 11.7447
CNYZAR 2.3090
ZARJPY 7.4489
CHFZAR 16.0112
USDAOA 598.80
Bonds and equities
R186 7.62%
US 10 Year 1.48%
JSE -0.93%
FTSE -1.00%
S&P 500 -0.34%
Commodities
Gold $1 758.51
Plat $ 969.60
Plad $1 906.11
Rhod $13 390.00
Irid $4 990.00
Ruth $673.00
Copp $9 112.85
Brent $78.03
Iron Ore 62.5% $117.00
Coal API4 $188.00
Gold ZAR R26 169.79
Plat ZAR R14 429.39
Indicators brought to you by TreasuryONE
