The JSE reversed earlier losses to close firmer on Wednesday as index heavyweight, Naspers, catapulted the local bourse.
Naspers [JSE:NPN] rallied after the release of 1st quarter earnings results from its Hong Kong listed associate, Tencent Holdings. The much anticipated Tencent Holdings earnings results blew past analysts’ expectations as revenues for the quarter soared to 23.3 billion yuan, which was higher than the forecasted average of 17 billion yuan. As a result of those earnings, Naspers quickly erased earlier losses to eventually close the day up 5.16% at R3260.00 per share.
Aspen [JSE:APN] also rallied on the back of positive sentiment around potential suitors for its infant formula business. The stock closed at R265.00 per share, up 4.54% for the day. Retailers recorded a mild recovery mainly due the firmer Rand which saw stocks such as The Foschini Group [JSE:TFG] and Mr Price [JSE:MRP] add 1.41% and 1.23% respectively. Anglo American PLC [JSE:AGL] and Bidvest [JSE:BVT] also recorded decent gains of 2.93% and 0.88% respectively.
The positive trend in Lewis [JSE:LEW] continued as the stock climbed 7.03% to close at R44.18 per share. Brait [JSE:BAT] managed to add 2.33%, whilst Grindrod [JSE:GND] and Exxaro [JSE:EXX] firmed by 3% and 3.18% respectively. Steinhoff International [JSE:SNH] had a small reprieve as the stock managed to add 3.95% to close at R1.58 per share.
Listed property stocks traded under pressure today which saw stocks such as Octodec [JSE:OCT] and Greenbay Properties [JSE:GRP] end the day 5.63% and 4.58% weaker respectively. Platinum miners, Lonmin [JSE:LON] and Impala Platinum [JSE:IMP] lost 3.4% and 3.68% respectively, whilst Gold miners, Gold Fields [JSE:GFI] and Harmony Gold [JSE:HAR] shed 1.52% and 5.57% respectively.
Mediclinic [JSE:MEI] and Life Healthcare [JSE:LHC] lost 1.17% and 0.04% respectively, whilst Rand hedges Richemont [JSE:CFR] and British American Tobacco [JSE:BTI] closed 0.43% and 0.73% weaker respectively. Old Mutual [JSE:OML] lost 1.17% whilst its sector peer, Sanlam [JSE:SLM] shed 0.7%.
The JSE Top-40 Index rebounded to close the day 1.51% firmer, whilst the JSE All-Share Index managed to gain 1.26%. A positive close was recorded across most of the major indices with the biggest gainer being the Industrials Index which gained 2.02%. The Resources Index added 0.77% whilst the Financials Index gained 0.55%>
The Rand fared well against the US dollar as it gained more than 1% to peak at a session high of R12.39/$. The local currency was still trading firmer when the JSE closed at 17.00 CAT as it was trading at R12.45/$.
Gold continued to trade under pressure as the US dollar maintained its gains. The precious metal slipped to a session low $1286.46/Oz before it recovered marginally to trade at $1288.10/Oz at 17.00 CAT. Platinum traded weaker on the day, and at 17.00 CAT it was trading at $888.60/Oz down 0.94% for the day. Palladium bucked the trend and inched higher on the day. It was trading 0.35% firmer at $985.69/Oz just after the JSE close.
Brent Crude traded softer as it slipped to a session low of $77.61/barrel. It recovered briefly to trade at $78.25/barrel just after the JSE closed.
On the crytocurrency market, Bitcoin is threatening to break below $8000 per coin as it traded mostly under pressure today. The coin was trading $8208.12 per coin at 17.00 CAT, whilst Ethereum was trading at $691.05 per coin at that same time.