The JSE closed firmer on Thursday which was in line with the trend in global equities which staged a comeback following consecutive sessions of losses.
The local bourse opened firmer and extended its gains during the course of today’s session as the market gained momentum. In Asia, the Nikkei closed 0.13% firmer as it took a leaf from the firmer overnight close in US equities. Equity markets in China and Hong Kong were closed today for a holiday.
Fortress B [JSE:FFB] carried its momentum from the previous day to end the day up 11.52%, whilst Resilient [JSE:RES] added 4.90%. EOH Holdings [JSE:EOH] which has been trading under a lot pressure recently managed to bounce and close the day 4.71% firmer at R41.09 per share. Miners Exxaro [JSE:EXX] and African Rainbow Minerals [JSE:ARM] gained 6.8% and 4.51% respectively.
Gains on the blue-chip index were led by Sasol [JSE:SOL] and Imperial Holdings [JSE:IMP] which climbed 3.65% and 3.39% respectively. Index heavyweights and diversified miners, BHP Billiton [JSE:BIL] and Anglo American PLC [JSE:AGL], gained 2.08% and 3.08% respectively, whilst media giant Naspers [JSE:NPN] extended its recovery to end the day 2.74% firmer. Sappi [JSE:SAP] and Discovery [JSE:DSY] also closed firmer after they added 1.88% and 1.7% respectively.
Cashbuild [JSE:CSB] ended the day amongst the day’s biggest losers after the stock lost 3.21% to close at R470.42 per share. Nampak [JSE:NPK] and Stadio Holdings [JSE:SDO] also traded weaker to end the day down 3.59% and 5.0% respectively. Weaker Gold prices resulted in Gold mining shares such as Gold Fields [JSE:GFI] and AngloGold Ashanti [JSE:ANG] shedding 0.94% and 1.21% respectively.
It was largely a positive day for local indices as the JSE All-Share Index ended the day up 1.97% whilst the JSE Top-40 Index gained 2.18%. The Resources and the Financials Indices jumped 2.54% and 2.15% respectively, whilst the Industrials Index added 1.76%.
In terms of local economic data, the Standard Bank PMI number contracted to 51.1 for the month of March, from a prior recording of 51.4. The SACCI Business Confidence index also declined to 97.6 from a prior level of 98.9.
The Rand traded softer against the greenback as it slid to a session low of R11.98/$. This move was mainly on the back of a marginally firmer US dollar. At 17.00 CAT the Rand was trading at R11.97/$.
The gains in the US dollar resulted in Gold trading weaker as it lost more than 0.7% to reach a session low of $1322.79/Oz. At 17.00 CAT Gold was trading at $1324.27/Oz. Palladium slid to a six month low of $909.67/Oz, whilst Platinum slid to a three month low of $907.25/Oz. At 17.00 CAT Platinum was trading at $911.38/Oz, whilst Palladium was recorded at $912.68/Oz.
Brent Crude traded mostly flat earlier on but it managed to gain some momentum to peak at a session high of $68.93/barrel. However it subsequently came off to trade at $68.07/barrel just after the close.