Daily Report 03 April 2023

SA Company News:

The Johannesburg Stock Exchange All-Share Index closed 0.8% lower at the 76 100 level. The JSE was down 2.1% for the month of March.

Absa announced a new broad-based BEE (BBBEE) transaction that will boost the black ownership levels of the banking group to above the 25% threshold set out in the Financial Sector Charter. The deal is to be implemented later in 2023 subject to shareholder approval.

Advanced Health Limited released interim financial statements for the six months ended 31 December 2022. The company said that  profit after tax for the period decreased 50% to R0.4 million (2021 : R0.8 million). Revenue from continued operations increased by 22% to R126.6 million and headline loss per share improved by 86% to 0.06 cents. No dividend were proposed for the current year.

 

SA Economy:

South Africa recorded a trade surplus of R16.1 billion in February 2023, swinging from a downwardly revised deficit of R 22.7 billion in the prior month and against market forecasts of a R14.3 billion shortfall.

The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) said in its Quarterly Bulletin that the country recorded foreign direct investment inflows of R67 billion ($3.75 billion) in the fourth quarter of 2022 compared to inflows of R11.9 billion in the third quarter.

Fitch Ratings agency has cut SA’s economic growth forecast. Fitch is now forecasting GDP growth of just 0.2% for 2023, moderately lower than its January forecast of 0.3%, saying that this was largely due to the scale of load-shedding from the start of 2023 to early March.

 

Global Economy:

Retail sales in Hong Kong climbed 29.6% year-on-year in February 2023, the largest growth since and accelerating from a 5.1% rise in the previous month.

The consumer price inflation rate in the Euro Area eased to 6.9% year-on-year in March 2023, slightly below market consensus of 7.1%.

The annual inflation rate in Croatia eased to 10.6% in March 2023 from 12% in the previous month.

The Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price index excluding food and energy rose 0.3% in February, less than the 0.4% expected.

The Caixin China General Manufacturing PMI  fell to 50.0 in March 2022 from the previous month of 51.6, missing market forecasts of 51.7.

 

Global Company:

The FTSE 100 closed 0.15% higher at 7 631. The FTSE 100 gained 3% for week, as concerns about the global banking sector eased.

Rio Tinto stock rose 0.3% after the company said that they agreed to sell their majority stake in its La Granja copper project in Peru to First Quantum Minerals.

The Hang Seng Index is lower by 0.79% to 20 238.

In China, the Shanghai Composite is up 0.48% to 3 288, led higher by gains in energy and technology stocks.

US markets closed higher as the Fed’s preferred inflation measure, the US core personal consumption expenditures price index, came below expectations.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 1.25% higher to 33 274, while the S&P 500 was up 1.42% to 4 109.

For the first quarter, tech shares were the best performing sector as the Nasdaq jumped 17.6%, while the Dow and the S&P 500 0.4% rose and 7.4%, respectively.

 

Commodities:

Gold is down 0.57% to $1 969/oz, while Platinum is higher by 0.9% to $994.10/oz.

OPEC+ surprised markets by cutting crude production by 1 million barrels a day.

Brent crude was 5.19% higher at $83.60 a barrel.

 

Currencies:

The rand traded at R17.87 against the US Dollar, R21.95 against British Pound and R19.29 against the Euro.

The Euro is slightly weaker against the US Dollar to trade at $1.0795.