MARKET WRAP: JSE rebounds to near record high, boosted by miners

The JSE rallied strongly on Thursday as big diversified miners in particular rebounded from the sharp sell-off the previous day, helped in part by stability in commodity prices.

The all-share index recovered 0.90% to settle at 80,227.19 points, within touching distance of its record 80,791.36 reached on January 27, while the heavyweight top 40 was up 1%.

Large industrial stocks also held up on the day, as the rand continued to deteriorate against the dollar, chipping away at hopes of an end to the hiking cycle by the Reserve Bank.

The rand was nearly 1% weaker at R18.15/$, the lowest level since early November, according to Infront data and is down a hefty 20% year on year.

SA focused shares were largely indifferent to the weaker rand, with retailers doing particularly well, though banks were moderately lower.

Vodacom jumped as much as 10% before pulling back to close 4% higher at R130.02 after Bloomberg News reported its parent company, Vodafone, was exploring options to unlock value in SA’s biggest mobile operator.

Initial considerations on Vodacom range from merging the business with other operators or divesting some assets in certain markets, to even selling a stake in the company, Bloomberg News reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

In Europe, stock markets were mostly higher in late trade, with UK’s FTSE 100 holding gains above the record 8,000 handle.

Stock markets on balance appear to have taken the strong US economic data in their stride, including robust retail sales and consumer inflation released earlier in the week.

“The truth is, I don’t know. Looking at the way headline indices are trading, one would assume that the market is coming to accept that higher interest rates are here to stay, and isn’t too bothered by it as the labour market in the US is still rather strong,” said Petri Redelinghuys, trader and founder of Herenya Capital Advisors.

“I have concerns around how long the US labour market can stay strong for, as well as the soaring credit card debt in the US. In my view, the house of cards is looking very weak and wobbly, and yet the market trades higher. So, on our side, we are staying very careful and conservative in this market.”

In commodity markets, the platinum price rebounded nearly 2% to $930.73oz and gold recovered slightly to $1,841.79/oz.

mahlangua@businesslive.co.za