MARKET WRAP: JSE kicks off new month positively

The JSE started off the new month positively, tracking risk-on sentiment on global markets.

Asian stocks were earlier buoyed by a rally in China, after index group MSCI said it would increase the proportion of mainland Chinese stocks in its global benchmarks. This positive sentiment spilled over into global markets, with only platinum and gold miners under some strain, due to a firmer dollar.

The all share closed 0.36% higher at 56,203.1 points and the top 40 fell 0.35%. Platinum miners fell 1.6% and banks 0.61%. General retailers added 1.1%.

The JSE gained 0.38% for the week.

Shortly after the JSE closed the Dow was up 0.81% at 26,126.69 points, while in Europe, the FTSE 100 had gained 0.59%, the CAC 40 0.59% and the DAX 30 1.18%.

Gold was down 0.24% at $1,310.03/oz and platinum 0.4% at $868.36. Brent crude was flat at $66.32 a barrel.

Local news was somewhat downbeat, with the Absa purchasing managers' index for manufacturing coming in well below expectations. The index, which gauges activity in the manufacturing industry, eased to 46.2 points in February from January’s 49.9. The Bloomberg consensus had been for 49.5.

Corporate results have given the local bourse much of its direction this week. Next weeks sees the release of both US nonfarm payrolls numbers for February, as well as local GDP numbers for the fourth quarter of 2018.

There may also be an outcome of a court battle over a planned strike by the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu), which is seeking to embark on a secondary strike across the gold sector, as it battles for wages at Sibanye-Stillwater.

African Rainbow Minerals gained 1.93% to R171. It earlier declared a dividend of R4 for the six months to end-December, up from the R2.50 it declared in the prior comparative period.

AB InBev jumped 6.26% to R1,163.10. It gained 5.36% on Thursday, having reported that revenue grew 4.8% in the year to end-December.

British American Tobacco rebounded 4.73%. It fell 1.59% on Thursday, despite having said that adjusted revenue grew 3.5% in the year to end-December, while adjusted earnings per share grew 11.8% year on year.

Richemont was up 2.79% to R110.

Distell gained 3.77% to R124.52, having earlier reported that headline earnings rose 12.1% in the six months to end-December, while net cash generated from operations grew 35.8% when compared to the corresponding period in 2017.

MTN slumped 5.41% to R79. The group said after markets closed on Thursday that headline earnings per share (HEPS) in the year to end-December would be between 80% and 90% higher than in 2017, or between 328c and 346c, despite its troubles in Nigeria. However, some analysts had expected a bigger increase.

gernetzkyk@businesslive.co.za