The local bourse extended its gains on Tuesday in line with global stocks which advanced amid improved sentiment on the coronavirus.

Global markets seemed to rally on the back of similar sentiment from the prior session in which a lower number of coronavirus related deaths were reported from Italy, Spain and China. This gives hope that the spread of the virus is being contained and this could potentially lead to reduced economic downtime due to quarantining and self-isolation. With no economic data being released locally, the all-share index took direction from the trend from other major global indices.

The rally in stocks has seen a slight outflow from the greenback, which has benefited emerging market currencies such as the rand. The rand extended its gains against the US dollar as it peaked at a session high of R18.08/$. At 17.00 CAT, the rand was trading 2.03% firmer at R18.29/$.

GT247, South Africa's Top Online Stockbroker, as voted by Intellidex, will continue to operate their powerful MT5 trading platform during the COVID-19 lockdown period. The trading team has assembled their workstations at home and are operational remotely. Clients may experience slight delays in support queries but trading online will resume as normal. Please use our FAQ self-help portal or email supportdesk@gt247.com if you require assistance.

On the JSE, Sasol [JSE:SOL] had another dramatic session in which the share leaped as high as R75.96 before it settled 53.48% higher at R71.60. Hammerson PLC [JSE:HMN] surged 31.4% to close at R16.95, while Resilient REIT [JSE:RES] rallied 11.72% to close at R34.99. Motus Holdings [JSE:MTH] extended its gains as it added 23.2% to end the day at R36.00, while City Lodge Hotels [JSE:CLH] rocketed 20% to close at R24.00. Sibanye Stillwater [JSE:SSW] gained 17.03% as it closed at R29.76, while platinum miner Impala Platinum [JSE:IMP] added 14.92% to close at R99.98. Significant gains were also recorded for The Foschini Group [JSE:TFG] which rallied 11.22% to close at R77.50, Anglo American PLC [JSE:AGL] which climbed 6.36% to close at R318.01, and Capitec Bank Holdings [JSE:CPI] which closed at R1085.00 after adding 6.06%.

Significant declines were recorded for a handful of retailers in today’s session. Lewis Group [JSE:LEW] fell 9.14% to close at R15.81, Pick n Pay [JSE:PIK] lost 4.1% to close at R56.43, while Shoprite [JSE:SHP] dropped 3.95% to close at R122.63. Tobacco producer British American Tobacco [JSE:BTI] retreated 2.92% to close at R659.00, while television content provider Multichoice Group [JSE:MCG] weakened by 2.12% to close at R88.14. Losses were also recorded for Dis-Chem Pharmacies [JSE:DCP] which closed at R23.01 after losing 2.29%, as well as MTN Group [JSE:MTN] which shed a modest 0.95% to close at R51.21.

The JSE All-Share index closed 2.72% firmer while the JSE Top-40 index gained 2.48%. The Financials index topped gains amongst the major indices as it surged 5.02%, while the Resources and Industrials indices gained 4.11% and 0.97% respectively.

Brent crude was trading flat just after the JSE close at it was recorded at $33.04/barrel.

At 17.00 CAT, Gold was 0.7% softer at $1651.36/Oz, Platinum had shed 0.17% to trade at $739.76/Oz, and Palladium was 3.37% higher at $2235.29/Oz.

Disclaimer:

Any opinions, news, research, reports, analyses, prices, or other information contained within this research is provided by GT247.com at GT247 (Pty) Ltd t/a GT247.com (“GT247.com”) as general market commentary, and does not constitute investment advice for the purposes of the Financial Advisory and Intermediary Services Act, 2002. GT247.com does not warrant the correctness, accuracy, timeliness, reliability or completeness of any information which we receive from third party data providers. You must rely solely upon your own judgment in all aspects of your trading decisions and all trades are made at your own risk. GT247.com and any of its employees will not accept any liability for any direct or indirect loss or damage, including without limitation, any loss of profit, which may arise directly or indirectly from use of or reliance on the market commentary. The content contained within is subject to change at any time without notice.