SA Company News:
The Johannesburg Stock Exchange All-Share Index closed 0.4% higher at the 86 384 level.
In a trading update from Momentum Group Limited, the company said that New Business Premiums rose 5% year-over-year to R20.65 billion, supported by growth in life annuities and improved retail sales in Africa (+25%). The Group’s operational performance was supported by the satisfactory new business performance of most business units. Momentum Retail’s earnings were up 1% to R2.16 billion and
Momentum Investments’ earnings were higher by 16% to R12.5 billion.
RFG Holdings Limited released its financial results for the financial year ending 29 September 2024. The company said that group revenue grew by 1.5% to R8 billion, with operating profit up by 12.7% to R852 million, reflecting an improved operating profit margin of 10.6%. Headline earnings rose 18.2% to R577 million, with headline earnings per share (HEPS) increasing by 18.6% to 222.2 cents. The board of directors has declared a gross dividend of 111.1 cents per share. The dividend has been declared out of income reserves.
SA Economy:
The recent “two-pot” pension reform has enabled individuals to make partial withdrawals from their pension funds before retirement, significantly impacting withdrawal volumes. The South African Revenue Service (SARS) reported that since the reform took effect on 1 September 2024, R35.1 billion ($1.9 billion) has been withdrawn by pension members over an 11-week period. This figure marks a sharp increase from the R21.4 billion reported as of October 11. The increased pension fund withdrawals are expected to enhance tax collections, offering a fiscal advantage to the government.
Global Economy:
The annual inflation in the Euro Area rose to 2% in October 2024, up from 1.7% in September which was the lowest level since April 2021, and in line with the preliminary estimates.
The current account surplus in the Euro Area widened to €51.5 billion in September 2024 from €34.6 billion a year earlier. The goods surplus increased to €33.6 billion from €29.4 billion, and the services surplus went up to €22.2 billion from €17.2 billion.
The People’s Bank of China kept the one-year loan prime rate for November unchanged at 3.1%, and the five-year rate at 3.6%.
Global Company:
The FTSE 100 closed 0.13% lower at 8 125. The FTSE 100 closed marginally lower as concerns over rising tensions between Russia and Ukraine weighed on sentiment.
The Hang Seng Index is trading 0.11% lower at 19 647.
Geely Auto, Xiaomi and Alibaba were among the laggards, dragging the benchmark Hang Seng Index lower.
In China, the Shanghai Composite is up 0.45% at 3 361.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 0.28% lower at 43 268, while the S&P 500 closed 0.39% higher at 5 916.
Investors are turning their attention to Nvidia’s upcoming earnings report later today. Focus will be centered on demand for Nvidia’s Blackwell AI chips, which are being used by major companies such as OpenAI, Microsoft, and Meta to build AI data centers. Shares of Nvidia surged nearly 5% during yesterday’s session in anticipation of the results.
Walmart was higher by 3% after posting strong earnings and raising its outlook, while Alphabet and Amazon added 1.6% and 1.4%, respectively.
Commodities:
Gold is trading higher by 0.51% at $2 636/oz, while Platinum is higher by 0.38% to $973.92/oz.
Brent crude was 0.27% lower at $72.94 a barrel.
Currencies:
The rand traded at R18.08 against the US Dollar, R22.94 against British Pound and R19.15 against the Euro.
The Euro is slightly firmer against the US Dollar to trade at $1.0587.
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| Market Indicators | |||||||
| Commodities $ | Cross Currencies ($) | Major Indices | |||||
| Gold | 2636.22 | 0.51% | USD/ZAR | 18.08 | Top40 | 76300.89 | 0.10% |
| Platinum | 973.92 | 0.38% | GBP/ZAR | 22.94 | Dow 30 | 43268.94 | -0.28% |
| Brent | 72.94 | -0.27% | EUR/ZAR | 19.15 | S&P 500 | 5916.98 | 0.39% |
| Copper | 4.16 | 0.72% | EUR/USD | 1.0587 | FTSE | 8099.02 | -0.13% |
| Palladium | 1034.88 | 2.72% | USD/JPY | 155.18 | DAX | 19060.31 | -0.68% |
| Iron Ore | 101.20 | 1.14% | BITCOIN | 92551.00 | Shanghai | 3361.14 | 0.45% |
| Source: FACTSET | |||||||