Equities on the JSE closed the day softer ahead of the mid-term budget speech that is expected tomorrow.
The local bourse failed to gain any significant momentum from the open and subsequently traded weaker for the better part of the day. The majority of the blue chip index constituents were trading in the red which saw British American Tobacco [JSE:BTI] and Mediclinic [JSE:MEI] being among the biggest losers as they shed 1.13% and 2.60% respectively.
Miners were mixed as stocks such as Harmony Gold [JSE:HAR] and Glencore [JSE:GLN] inched up 1.23% and 1.73% respectively, however AngloGold Ashanti [JSE:ANG] and Lonmin [JSE:LON] shed 1.55% and 1.96% respectively.
Banking stocks Standard Bank [JSE:SBK] and Barclays Africa [JSE:BGA] had another day of gains despite a relatively weaker Rand as they closed up 0.96% and 0.46% respectively. Diversified miner BHP Billiton [JSE:BIL] inched up 0.44%, but the biggest gainers on the day included WBHO [JSE:WBO] and Barloworld [JSE:BAW] which gained 2.10% and 5.22% respectively.
The blue chip JSE Top-40 Index closed the day down 0.14%, whilst the JSE All-Share Index lost 0.16%. It was a tough day for the local bourse as all the major indices closed in the red. The Industrials Index lost 0.12% whilst the Resources Index lost 0.21%. The Financials Index shed 0.15% as the weaker Rand weighed down on it.
The Rand reversed overnight gains as the US dollar strengthened from a minor slide. The Rand weakened to an intra-day low of R13.78/$ and when the JSE closed it was trading at R13.74/$. Focus now shifts to the mid-term budget speech expected tomorrow afternoon, and with most analysts expecting tax increases in some form or the other it will be key to see the reaction of the Rand afterwards.
Gold was bullish overnight but in today’s session it gave back most of those gains as the US dollar rebounded. Despite having peaked at $1283.06/Oz overnight, the precious metal lost ground to trade at $1273.73/Oz when the JSE closed.
Platinum traded softer as it reached an intra-day low of $919.29/Oz, but Palladium remained on its bullish trajectory to peak to an intra-day high of $969.00/Oz. When the JSE closed Palladium was recorded at $961.04/Oz whilst Platinum was trading at $920.49/Oz.
Brent Crude remained steady as news came out that OPEC was working on an exit strategy as well as discussing the possibility of extending production cuts until the end of next year. Brent Crude was trading at $57.43 per barrel when the JSE closed.
After the US markets opened, the Dow Jones Industrials Index hit fresh all-time highs. This was mainly driven by better than expected results for Caterpillar [NYSE:CAT], 3M [NYSE:MMM] and McDonalds [NYSE:MCD].
