Local equities closed firmer in a relatively flat trading session on the JSE.
The JSE had some momentum earlier on as it took a leaf from the current bullish trend in other major global indices. Top movers on the day included Tongaat Hulett [JSE:TON] which gained 2.70%, and Sappi [JSE:SAP] which gained 2.47%. Banking stocks firmed despite a weaker Rand which saw Barclays Africa [JSE:BGA], Nedbank [JSE:NED] and First Rand [JSE:FSR] all firming by 0.97%, 0.23% and 0.34% respectively.
Subdued metal commodity prices did not deter some of the JSE listed miners such as Anglo American PLC [JSE:AGL], AngloGold Ashanti [JSE:ANG] and BHP Billiton [JSE:BIL] which gained 2.34%, 1.55% and 0.61% respectively. Mr Price [JSE:MRP] held on well earlier and eventually closed up 0.27% but its sector peer Woolworths [JSE:WHL] closed the day unchanged.
Pioneer Foods [JSE:PFG] came under pressure following the release of a trading statement which indicated that they are expecting a decrease in both headline and attributable earnings per share. The stock shed 2.92% to close at R114.55 per share.
Other major losers on the day included Exxaro Resources [JSE:EXX] which lost 3.36% and Rhodes Food Group [JSE:RFG] which shed 4.11%. RCL Foods [JSE:RCL] also came under pressure as it shed 4.01%. Gold miners Gold Fields [JSE:GFI] and Harmony Gold [JSE:HAR] traded weaker on the back of softer Gold prices to eventually close the day down 0.81% and 1.26% respectively.
The JSE All-Share Index managed to eventually close up 0.09%, whilst the Top-40 Index gained 0.13%. The Industrials Index shed 0.07% however the Resources and Financials Index managed to gain 0.79% and 0.06% respectively on the day.
The US dollar strengthened against a basket of major currencies as indicated by the US dollar index which reached an intra-day high 94.002 index points. This resulted in the Rand weakening to an intra-day low of R13.76 against the greenback. The US dollar retraced slightly towards the close of the JSE and as a result the Rand gained marginally to trade at R13.72/$ when the JSE closed.
Gold traded weaker in today’s trading session due to the stronger US dollar. The precious metal weakened to an intra-day low of $1272.61/Oz before rebounding slightly to trade at $1274.11/Oz when the JSE closed.
Other metals such as Palladium and Platinum also traded weaker which saw them trade at intra-day lows of $961.71/Oz and $913.94/Oz respectively. JSE listed miners Impala Platinum [JSE:IMP] and Anglo American Platinum [JSE:AMS] closed the day weaker as they lost 1.34% and 0.14% respectively.
Brent Crude fell below $58 per barrel to trade at $57.62 per barrel when the JSE closed. Sasol managed to close the day firmer as it gained 0.25%.
In the USA, all the major indices hit fresh all-time highs yet again right after the open.