Daily Report 04 October 2021

SA Company News:

The JSE All Share index closed 0.97% weaker at 63 661 on Friday. Lenders have given Nampak Ltd another nine months to bring down debt by R1bn to end-June 2022 considering a pickup in its trading performance. Afrimat Limited advised shareholders that headline earnings per share (HEPS) is expected to be between 290.6 cents and 299.8 cents representing an increase of between 58% and 63% compared to HEPS of 183.9 cents reported for the six-month period ended 31 August 2020. Discovery Health Medical Scheme will delay the implementation of its annual contribution increases to May next year.

SA Economy:

The Absa purchasing managers’ index (PMI) slid to 56.8 points from August’s 57.9 points indicating that the manufacturing sector could weigh on growth in the third quarter.  TransUnion the consumer credit reporting agency says that South Africans are struggling to pay their bills as unemployment was still rising. Vehicle exports dropped 57% in September to 12 202 from 28 390 vehicles in September 2020 as a result of temporary closure of plants combined with semiconductor shortages.

​Global Economy:

Friday’s employment report in the US could be seen as one of the triggers for the Federal Reserve’s decision on when to taper its $120 billion-a-month bond buying program. Investors are also watching the supply chain issues that are disrupting many companies’ ability to get inputs. UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that the fuel crisis is now subsiding, even though it could take weeks for fuel supply to return to normal.  Coal soared to $228 per metric ton as tight supply in China continues. Zimbabwe’s central bank has revised its year-end inflation outlook to 53%.

Global Company News:

The Hang Seng Index fell 620 points or 2.52% to 23 955 in early trade on Monday dragged down by reports that Chinese property developer Evergrande has missed two bond interest payments in the past two weeks and therefore shares in the company were suspended from trading today. In Europe, the FTSE 100 fell 0.84%. Wall Street rallied on Friday with the Dow Jones gaining 480 points to close at 34 326 and the S&P adding more than 1% to 4 357. Merck developed a drug that reduces the risk of hospitalization or death by around 50% for patients with mild or moderate cases of Covid. If authorized by regulatory bodies, molnupiravir could be the first oral antiviral medicine for Covid. Tesla delivered 241 300 electric vehicles during the third quarter of 2021; analysts predicted that Tesla would deliver around 220 900 electric cars during this period.

Commodities:

Gold was flat at $1760.31/$, while platinum was little changed at $971.62. Brent crude was 0.86% higher at $78.99 a barrel. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies, known as OPEC+, meet today on the unwinding of output cuts made last year. Coal soared to $228 per metric ton as tight supply in China continues.

Currencies:

The rand weakened 0.31% to R14.91/$. The US Dollar was flat at EUR/$1.160