Daily Report 28 February 2023

SA Company News:

The Johannesburg Stock Exchange All-Share Index closed 0.8% higher at the 77 514 level.

Liberty Two Degrees Ltd. reported results for the year ended 31 December 2022. The company said headline earnings for the 12 months ended 31 December 2022, were R316.8 million, compared with R295.7 million a year ago. Headline EPS stood at 36.37 cents from 33.32 cents. The company’s revenue was at R974 million from R888.2 million. Liberty Two Degrees Ltd. declared an interim dividend of 18.99 cents per share.

Hulamin warned shareholders of an expected decline in full-year 2022 earnings. The company said that earnings per share (EPS) is estimated to fall between 45% and 53% to 0.91 cents and R1.05, respectively, when compared with the prior-year period. Headline EPS is expected to grow to between 0.98 cents and R1.13. Shares of the company fell 3.46% to R2.79 per share.

Wilson Bayly Holmes-Ovcon reported results for the six months ended 31 December 2022. The company said that its order book increased by 19% from R22 billion to R27 billion. Revenue grew 15% to R10.33 billion vs year-ago of R8.99 billion. Wilson Bayly Holmes-Ovcon did not declare an interim dividend.

 

SA Economy:

Data from the Association for Savings and Investment SA’s (ASISA) showed that the unit trust industry saw net inflows of R108bn in 2022, ending the year with R3.14-trillion in assets under management (AUM).

Public service unions delivered a strike notice to the department of public service & administration, warning that government employees will go on an indefinite strike from the 6^th of March if workers’ demands for a 10% wage increase were not met.

 

Global Economy:

The economic sentiment indicator in the Euro Area edged down to 99.7 in February of 2023, well below market forecast of 101.

Imports to Hong Kong dropped 30.2% year-on-year to $316.3 billion in January 2023 and from a 28.9% decline in the previous month. Exports from Hong Kong fell 36.7% year-on-year to $290.9 billion in January 2023. Hong Kong posted a trade deficit of $25.4 billion in January 2023.

The Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) will begin on Saturday, 4^th of March in Beijing, where economic goals are likely to be announced as well as leadership changes at the People’s Bank of China.

 

Global Company:

The FTSE 100 closed 0.71% higher at 7 935, driven mainly by gains in the energy sector.

Asian markets are trading mixed as investors continue to assess the outlook for the global economy.

The Hang Seng Index is trading flat at 19 920.

In China, the Shanghai Composite is down 0.11% to 3 254.

There were no key drivers for US markets yesterday. However, equities gained slightly.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 0.22% higher to 32 889, while the S&P 500 was up 0.22% to 3 982.

 

Commodities:

Gold is up 0.45% to $1 817/oz, while Platinum is higher by 4.21% to $941.60/oz.

Brent crude was 0.86% lower at $82.45 a barrel.

 

Currencies:

The rand traded at R18.46 against the US Dollar, R22.21 against British Pound and R19.54 against the Euro.

The Euro is slightly firmer against the US Dollar to trade at $1.0584.