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Markets WRAP: Rand closes at R14.40/$

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24 Apr 2019

Rand ends the day's session at R14.40/$

The local unit closed 1.11% weaker at R14.40 to the greenback. The currency started the day at R14.25/$ with trade ranging to R14.42/$.

24 Apr 2019

US stocks slip from record as dollar advances

US equities edged lower along with European stocks as investors assessed corporate earnings and economic data. Treasuries joined a global rally in sovereign bonds and the dollar extended its rally to a six-week high.

The S&P 500 Index slipped after the gauge closed at a record Tuesday. AT&T and Caterpillar fell after reporting first-quarter results, while Boeing rose.

The Stoxx Europe 600 Index threatened to snap the longest run of gains since 2017. The euro fell after key gauges of confidence in the EU’s two largest economies unexpectedly deteriorated.

US stocks have been on a tear since late last year, but the fresh record Tuesday appears to have triggered some soul-searching among investors.

MORE HERE

24 Apr 2019

Vodacom, MTN fall after Competition Commission finds data too expensive

Vodacom Group and MTN Group shares fell after one of the competition regulators ruled that SA’s two largest mobile-phone companies overcharge customers for data – particularly those on lower incomes.

The two carriers bill more in their home market than in other countries in which they operate, the Competition Commission said in a provisional report on an inquiry that began in August 2017.

Customers hardest hit are those using smaller prepaid bundles, who tend to be less well off, the regulator said.

MORE HERE

24 Apr 2019

JPMorgan ends a three-year bullish call on Anglo American shares

Michael Msika

Anglo American is no longer a darling at JPMorgan Chase & Co. After almost three years of rating the mining giant’s stock as overweight, the firm downgraded it to neutral on Wednesday citing a trio of concerns - shares no longer look as cheap, the company’s 2020 earnings may see a cut and capital returns may be constrained in the first half of the year.

Shares slid as much as 3% in London, leading declines among basic-resource companies in the Stoxx 600. Anglo, which was “excessively cheap” relative to peers in the past, has narrowed the gap since, and no longer carries an “obvious South Africa risk premium,” JPMorgan analyst Dominic O’Kane wrote in a note.

He recommends a “tactical” long on Glencore against a short Anglo American based on momentum, superior shareholder returns and better risk/reward ahead of the next earning season.

Anglo American now faces serious risks ahead, with a high degree of uncertainty about its Minas Rio tailing dam project in Brazil, O’Kane wrote. Without an approval by the end of the year, it would have a 20% negative impact on 2020 earnings, he estimates.

The potential delay in the approval could also weigh on Anglo’s capital return when the company reports its first-half earnings on July 25. The miner’s stock has jumped about 170% since JPMorgan turned overweight in July 2016, including a boost from Indian billionaire and Vedanta Ltd. owner Anil Agarwal increasing his stake in the miner in 2017.

24 Apr 2019

JSE-listed investment holding company PSG Group announced its results for the financial year to February 2019 on Wednesday. Its recurring earnings per share increased by 9% to R10.86. The group's sum-of-the-parts (SOTP) value, of which more than 90% is calculated using JSE-listed share prices while other investments are included at market-related valuations, amounted to R311.45 per PSG Group share as at 28 February 2019, representing a 22% increase over the prevoius reporting period.

A final dividend of R3.04 cents per share was declared for a total of R4.56 cents per share for the year ended February 28, representing an increase of 10% for the financial year under review.

24 Apr 2019

The rand was trading about 0.5% weaker against the dollar in the early afternoon on Tuesday. 

The local currency opened the day at R14.25/$ and was changing hands at R14.33 to the greenback by 13:00. 

The rand lost aground against the dollar on Tuesday as news of the Eskom bailout filtered through the markets after the long Easter weekend. This was compounded by the fact that global markets were avoiding 'risky assets' in the wake of the US scrapping Iranian crude oil waivers, according to Andre Botha, a senior dealer at TreasuryONE. 


 

24 Apr 2019

European stocks struggle to sustain momentum; dollar climbs

Eddie van der Walt, Bloomberg

European stocks followed Asian shares lower on Tuesday, while US equity benchmarks pointed to a softer open in the wake of Tuesday’s record close.

Treasuries climbed and the dollar extended its rally to a six-week high. Losses for raw-material producers threatened to end the longest run of gains since October 2017 for the Stoxx Europe 600 Index, with banks drifting lower despite positive earnings from Credit Suisse.

Futures on the S&P 500 slipped after the underlying index closed at a record on Tuesday. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index retreated as shares dropped in Tokyo.

Core European sovereign bonds climbed, while the common currency fell after data showed Germany’s business confidence worsened.

Crude oil dipped and gold held recent losses.

The buoyancy that took US stocks to record highs appears to have triggered some soul-searching among investors, with positive earnings surprises in Europe failing to erase lingering concerns about the region’s economic outlook.

So far, almost 80% of S&P 500 companies reporting results have exceeded estimates. Still looming is economic news, with US first-quarter gross domestic product data due on Friday, while emerging market investors will be nervously watching the dollar’s climb.

In China, markets got little help from the central bank’s move to support liquidity in the banking system to fund lending.

The People’s Bank of China injected the equivalent of about $40bn in medium-term loans. The PBOC has refrained from stronger measures, such as lowering the country’s benchmark lending rates, as an upturn in economic data reduces the pressure for more stimulus.

24 Apr 2019

Wescoal serves 274 contract employees with notices of dismissal

JSE-listed mining Group Wescoal says that 274 contract employees at one of its subsidiaries have been served with notices of dismissal following what it described as "work stoppages, strike actions and riots".

In an update to shareholders on Tuesday, Wescoal said that production at Vanggatfontein Mine in Mpumalanga will be suspended for a period of between six to eight weeks.The mine is run by Keaton Mining, a subsidiary of Wescoal. The operations are outsourced to a mining contractor.

Continue reading

24 Apr 2019

Global stocks struggle, even as US hits record

Cormac Mullen, Bloomberg

Asian stocks fell back Wednesday with the region lacking the catalyst that propelled their US counterparts to record highs: stronger corporate earnings releases.

Australia’s dollar slumped after a surprisingly weak inflation reading. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index retreated as shares dropped in Tokyo, Seoul and Hong Kong, and fluctuated in Shanghai.

Australian equities bucked the trend as flat consumer price growth stoked bets on lower interest rates and pulled down the Aussie, bolstering its competitiveness. Earlier, the S&P 500 Index marked fresh highs following favourable first-quarter figures from the likes of Twitter, Lockheed Martin and Hasbro

The dollar strengthened, while Treasury yields ticked lower. European futures were lower.

The weaker tone in Asian equities contrasts with the overnight move in the US, which was bolstered by the fact that almost 80% of S&P 500 companies have reported results that exceeded estimates.

Still looming is economic news, with US first-quarter gross domestic product data due on Friday, while emerging market investors will be nervously watching the dollar’s climb.

In China, markets got little help from the central bank’s move to support liquidity in the banking system to fund lending. The People’s Bank of China injected the equivalent of about $40bn in medium-term loans.

The PBOC has refrained from stronger measures, such as lowering the country’s benchmark lending rates, as an upturn in economic data reduces the pressure for more stimulus. Elsewhere, the pound held losses as UK Prime Minister Theresa May confronted further challenges to her leadership.

Oil retreated after three sessions of gains.

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Rand - Dollar
18.89
+0.2%
Rand - Pound
23.84
+0.3%
Rand - Euro
20.38
+0.2%
Rand - Aus dollar
12.31
+0.2%
Rand - Yen
0.12
+0.2%
Platinum
908.05
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Palladium
1,014.94
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Gold
2,232.75
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Silver
24.95
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Brent Crude
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Top 40
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All Share
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Resource 10
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Industrial 25
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Financial 15
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