The JSE advanced on Friday on the back of strong gains across most global markets following a surge in US markets on Thursday.

US markets rallied on Thursday on the back of optimism that the US market could reopen soon, and there was hope that a treatment for the coronavirus could be just over the horizon following a report from Gilead Sciences Inc. Global stocks advanced despite weak Chinese GDP data which showed that the Chinese economy contracted by 6.8% from a prior recording of 6.0%, while retail sales contracted by 15.8%. Strong gains were recorded across Europe as well as the USA where stock markets opened firmer.

The rand had a mixed session as it traded mostly firmer before erasing most gains towards the JSE close. At 17.00 CAT, the rand was trading 0.07% weaker at R18.88/$.

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On the JSE, Telkom [JSE:TKG] was one of the day’s biggest movers after it surged 11.32% to close at R21.05, while Vodacom [JSE:VOD] rallied 5.43% to close at R120.65. Tsogo Sun Hotels [JSE:TGO] climbed 10.27% as it closed at R2.04, while Famous Brands [JSE:FBR] gained 9.17% to close at R37.50. Commodity trading giant Glencore PLC [JSE:GLN] advanced 9.14% to close at R33.21, while diversified miner Anglo American PLC [JSE:AGL] added 5.54% to end the day at R330.93. Index heavyweight, Richemont [JSE:CFR] rallied 4.13% to close at R106.98, while Mondi PLC [JSE:MNP] closed at R313.31 after adding 5.5%. Advances were also recorded for BHP Group [JSE:BHP] which rose 5.17% to close at R308.75, as well as Absa Group [JSE:ABG] which closed at R83.30 after gaining 3.31%.

KAP Industrial Holdings [JSE:KAP] came under significant pressure as it fell 11.49% to close at R2.08, while Super Group [JSE:SPG] tumbled 5.05% to close at R15.23. Gold miners traded mostly softer as declines were recorded for DRD Gold [JSE:DRD] which lost 4.66% to close at R15.54, as well as Gold Fields [JSE:GFI] which slipped 4.52% to close at R120.28. Intu Properties [JSE:ITU] retreated 3.23% to close at R1.50, while Resilient [JSE:RES] lost 2.17% to end the day at R39.69. Significant losses were recorded for Life Healthcare [JSE:LHC] which fell 4.19% to close at R18.29, and Capitec Bank Holdings [JSE:CPI] which closed at R902.80 after falling 2.45%.

The JSE All-Share index closed 1.84% higher while the JSE Top-40 index gained 1.96%. The Resources index surged 3.19% while the Industrials and Financials indices managed to add 1.03% and 2% respectively.

Brent crude recorded a mild recovery in today’s session as it was recorded trading 1.58% firmer at $28.26/barrel just after the JSE close.

At 17.00 CAT, Gold was down 1.58% at $1690.59/Oz, Platinum was 1.69% weaker at $775.14/Oz, and Palladium was up 0.42% at $2181.35/Oz.

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