The JSE closed firmer today as it carried its momentum from the previous day.
The local bourse was buoyed by Rand hedge stocks, as well as some of the Rand sensitive stocks which surprisingly continued to trade in the green despite a weaker Rand. Mediclinic was another surprise performer today as it jumped up 2.73% to close at R130.77 per share. Banking stocks Nedbank and Barclays Africa were 2.11% & 1.29% firmer respectively, however Standard Bank traded under pressure eventually managing to close the day 0.05% firmer. Naspers was 0.39% firmer as it followed the trend in its associate, Tencent Holdings, which closed the day up 0.91% on the Hang Seng this morning.
The JSE All-Share Index ended the day up 0.47%, whilst the blue chip Top-40 Index was up 0.53%. The Financials Index inched up 0.31%, whilst the Resources Index gained 0.71%. The Industrials Index closed the day up 0.48%.
The USA released the all-important Non-Farm Payrolls data which is the most significant indicator of the health of the US economy. The number came in better than expected as the US economy added 209 000 jobs in July, which was better than the anticipated 180 000 jobs forecast. The US Dollar strengthened on the back of this data against major currency pairs, and the EUR/USD currency pair broke below 1.18 Euros to the US Dollar. The Bloomberg US Dollar Index spiked up above 93 index points, and locally we saw USD/ZAR weakening to intra-day highs of R13.47/$.
Gold came under pressure after the release of US jobs data slipping to an intra-day low of $1254.29 per ounce, which put pressure on Gold miners on the JSE. AngloGold Ashanti came under significant pressure eventually closing the day down 3.40%, whilst Gold Fields was down by 0.08%. The precious metal was trading at $1257.51 per ounce just after the JSE closed.
Platinum and Palladium also came under pressure after the release of US jobs data and were trading in negative territory when the JSE closed. Fortunately Anglo American Platinum and Impala Platinum did not lose much of the earlier momentum and closed up 0.47% and 2.35% respectively. Platinum was recorded at $968.96 per ounce just after the JSE closed, whilst Palladium was recorded at $883.81 per ounce.
Brent Crude was trading flat today as there wasn’t any significant price action in the commodity. Investors are waiting for the outcome of the meeting between OPEC & non-OPEC members which is scheduled for next week in Abu Dhabi. The objective of the meeting is to establish why production cuts agreed upon last year have not been adhered to by the countries involved. Brent Crude was trading at $52.17 per barrel when the JSE closed.