The local bourse eventually ended the day in the green after a relatively flat trading session.
Trading on the JSE got off to a muted start as the index struggled to pick a direction earlier on. The major highlight was the Rand which strengthened due to a combination of a weaker US dollar and news about President Jacob Zuma’s corruption charges being reinstated. The Rand strengthened to an intra-day high of R13.28 against the US dollar before it was recorded at R13.31/$ when the JSE closed.
Major moves up on the JSE included Kumba Iron Ore [JSE:KIO] which surprisingly jumped up 7.74%. NEPI Rockcastle [JSE:NRP] jumped 4.05% whilst the recent listing Stadio [JSE:SDO] continued on its impressive run as it gained another 3.82%. Other notable blue chip index top performers included Anglo American PLC [JSE:AGL] which gained 1.71%, and Steinhoff [JSE:SNH] which gained 1.52%.
First Rand [JSE:FSR] came under pressure despite a firmer Rand. This was mainly because they announced that they have made an approach to a UK listed business, Aldermore Group PLC, to acquire the entire issued and to be issued share capital of the business. The stock lost 1.89% to close at R53.35 per share.
Liberty Two Degrees [JSE:L2D] traded under pressure to end the day down 2.22%. The two Mondi listings traded under pressure which saw Mondi PLC [JSE:MNP] and [JSE:MND] shedding 2.08% and 2.47% respectively. Richemont [JSE:CFR] faced headwinds due to the stronger Rand as it eventually closed 1.19% weaker.
The bourse managed to gain momentum towards the close which saw the JSE All-Share Index closing up 0.22%, whilst the blue chip Top-40 Index was up by 0.19%. The Resources Index bounced on the back of firmer commodity prices to close the day up 0.67% whilst the Financials Index gained 0.58%. The Industrials Index came under pressure as it shed 0.07%.
Gold had a positive day as it broke above $1300/Oz. This momentum was a result of worse than expected US retail sales and inflation data which put pressure on the US Dollar. The precious metal peaked at $1302.78/Oz before it retraced slightly to trade at $1299.26/Oz when the JSE closed.
Palladium had yet another impressive run as it jumped by more than $19/Oz to reach an intra-day high of $998.88/Oz. Platinum was also positive as it peaked at $944.80/Oz. Platinum miners Impala Platinum [JSE:IMP] and Anglo American Platinum [JSE:AMS] benefitted from this as they traded firmer to close the day up 2.81% and 1.85% respectively.
Despite a minor slide yesterday Brent Crude managed to rebound back above $57 per barrel as it reached an intra-day high of $57.57 per barrel. Sasol was however weaker as it lost 0.63%. Brent Crude was trading at $56.80 per barrel when the JSE closed.
