Resources and gold shares drive the bourse to a firmer close, with oil boosted by talk of Opec+ production cuts
23 August 2022 - 19:41
byAndries Mahlangu
Support our award-winning journalism. The Premium package (digital only) is R30 for the first month and thereafter you pay R129 p/m now ad-free for all subscribers.
The JSE ended firmer on Tuesday, outperforming its peers in Europe where the spectre of recession loomed large.
The all share index gained 0.83% to end the session at 69,772.27 points, powered mostly by resources shares, which were driven by higher metal prices. The gauge of big resource stocks surged almost 3%, the most in five days.
Gold counters also had a positive session on account of a higher gold price, which rose 0.87% to $1,750.13/oz.
Brent crude was the standout performer among commodities after top oil producer Saudi Arabia said Opec+ could cut output to support prices in the case of returning Iranian crude and with the prospect of a drop in US inventories. At 7.10pm Brent was trading at 3.24% higher at $99.82 a barrel.
The spot price of platinum recovered 0.7% to $883.60/oz, ending a four-session losing streak. But palladium bucked the trend, falling 0.88% to $1,981/oz.
Banks were patchy, but insurance stocks ended higher for a second day, lifted in part by a trading update from Momentum Metropolitan. As is the case with its peers, Momentum is benefiting from the fall-off in Covid-19-related deaths and other claims. The group said normalised headline earnings per share are expected to surge by between 320% and 340% year on year in the 12 months ended June.
In the currency market, the rand oscillated around R17/$, but weakened slightly against the euro and pound. At 6.39pm SA’s currency was 0.19% stronger at R16.9613/$, little changed at R16.92091/€ and 0.6% weaker against the pound at R20.1015/£.
Europe’s main markets were all lower, with the UK’s FTSE 100 losing 0.61%, and Germany’s DAX down 0.27% after a similarly downbeat session in Asia.
“It’s clear that investors already have an eye on the Jackson Hole Symposium later in the week and we’re perhaps seeing some apprehension and anxiety ahead of that. I’m not entirely sure where that has come from because they’ve been perfectly happy to bat away hawkish warnings in recent weeks and if anything, the data has turned slightly in their favour,” Oando senior market analyst Craig Erlam said in a note.
“It may simply be a case of profit-taking after a good run in case the message finally gets through and causes a wobble in the markets. Equally, we could just be seeing markets being set up for a strong end to the week if [Fed] chair [Jerome] Powell says anything remotely dovish that excites traders once more.”
Support our award-winning journalism. The Premium package (digital only) is R30 for the first month and thereafter you pay R129 p/m now ad-free for all subscribers.
MARKET WRAP: JSE bucks lower trend in Europe
Resources and gold shares drive the bourse to a firmer close, with oil boosted by talk of Opec+ production cuts
The JSE ended firmer on Tuesday, outperforming its peers in Europe where the spectre of recession loomed large.
The all share index gained 0.83% to end the session at 69,772.27 points, powered mostly by resources shares, which were driven by higher metal prices. The gauge of big resource stocks surged almost 3%, the most in five days.
Gold counters also had a positive session on account of a higher gold price, which rose 0.87% to $1,750.13/oz.
Brent crude was the standout performer among commodities after top oil producer Saudi Arabia said Opec+ could cut output to support prices in the case of returning Iranian crude and with the prospect of a drop in US inventories. At 7.10pm Brent was trading at 3.24% higher at $99.82 a barrel.
The spot price of platinum recovered 0.7% to $883.60/oz, ending a four-session losing streak. But palladium bucked the trend, falling 0.88% to $1,981/oz.
Banks were patchy, but insurance stocks ended higher for a second day, lifted in part by a trading update from Momentum Metropolitan. As is the case with its peers, Momentum is benefiting from the fall-off in Covid-19-related deaths and other claims. The group said normalised headline earnings per share are expected to surge by between 320% and 340% year on year in the 12 months ended June.
In the currency market, the rand oscillated around R17/$, but weakened slightly against the euro and pound. At 6.39pm SA’s currency was 0.19% stronger at R16.9613/$, little changed at R16.92091/€ and 0.6% weaker against the pound at R20.1015/£.
Europe’s main markets were all lower, with the UK’s FTSE 100 losing 0.61%, and Germany’s DAX down 0.27% after a similarly downbeat session in Asia.
“It’s clear that investors already have an eye on the Jackson Hole Symposium later in the week and we’re perhaps seeing some apprehension and anxiety ahead of that. I’m not entirely sure where that has come from because they’ve been perfectly happy to bat away hawkish warnings in recent weeks and if anything, the data has turned slightly in their favour,” Oando senior market analyst Craig Erlam said in a note.
“It may simply be a case of profit-taking after a good run in case the message finally gets through and causes a wobble in the markets. Equally, we could just be seeing markets being set up for a strong end to the week if [Fed] chair [Jerome] Powell says anything remotely dovish that excites traders once more.”
mahlangua@businesslive.co.za
Europe’s crisis economy and the punishing war in Ukraine
GRAY MAGUIRE: Inflation Reduction Act in US could be a blueprint for SA
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Most Read
Related Articles
Gold prices edge up as dollar rally eases
US stocks end sharply lower on fears of aggressive Fed rate hike
Published by Arena Holdings and distributed with the Financial Mail on the last Thursday of every month except December and January.