Rand hedges continue to lift the JSE

The JSE managed to reverse earlier losses to close the day in positive territory as Rand hedges pushed the index higher yet again.

The JSE All-Share Index Futures came within 400 points of its all-time high but retreated after it reached 49 121 points, to trade just below 49 000 points for the greater part of the day.  Nonetheless, the ALSI futures were trading in positive territory for the greater part of the day.

The Rand weakened further relative to the US Dollar reaching intra-day lows of R13.31 against the greenback. As a result stocks such as Richemont, Mondi Ltd & British American Tobacco closed in the green, closing up 1.07%, 1.09% and 2.03% respectively.  British American Tobacco bounced after 2 consecutive losing sessions finishing the day as one of the top movers in the Top-40 Index. Steinhoff also managed to recover from the selloff that we saw yesterday to close the day up by 1.21%.

The JSE All-Share Index closed the day up 0.33%, whilst the Top-40 Index was up by 0.34%. The Financials Index was 0.13% firmer, whilst the Resources Index managed to firm up by 0.47%. The Industrials Index closed up 0.33%.

The US Dollar lost some ground against major currency pairs this afternoon after the release of economic data which missed estimates. US Construction Spending month-on-month was recorded at -1.3% on the back of an estimate of 0.4%, this alongside Manufacturing PMI numbers which missed estimates led to a minor slide in the US Dollar Index.

Gold had another positive day but it faced minor resistance at $1270 per ounce before eventually breaking out above it to reach an intra-day high of $1274.16 per ounce. JSE listed gold miners had a positive day which saw stocks such as Harmony Gold and Gold Fields closing up 0.90% and 0.04% respectively. Just after the JSE closed, Gold was trading at $1272.94 per ounce.

Palladium had a good run today as the commodity managed to break above $900 per ounce. This aided Sibanye Gold which is now a big palladium producer, and as a result the stock closed up 3.27%. Palladium was trading at $900.93 per ounce just after the JSE closed, having managed to reach an intra-day high of $901.50 per ounce.

Platinum followed the same upward trend in Palladium as it traded in the green for the greater part of today’s trading session. The metal managed to reach a high of $948.41 per ounce which saw Impala Platinum and Royal Bafokeng Platinum closing up 2.95% and 2.54% respectively.

Brent Crude managed to bounce back after a minor retracement in overnight trading. It reached an intra-day high of $52.93 per barrel before retracing towards the JSE close to break below $52 per barrel. It was recorded at $51.78 per barrel just after the close.