Daily Report 13 March 2023

SA Company News:

The Johannesburg Stock Exchange All-Share Index closed 1.6% lower at the 76 454 level. The JSE joined the global selloff on Friday as fears of the US banking collapse continued to weigh on market sentiment.

Premier Foods will be listing on the JSE’s main board on the 24^th of March. The offer price was set at R53.82 per share, giving Premier Foods an initial market valuation of R6.9 billion. The initial public offering was called off  in December amid market turmoil after it emerged that President Cyril Ramaphosa may have violated the constitution in the Phala Phala forex saga.

MTN Group Ltd. published financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2022. The company said that revenue was R207.00 billion. Earnings per share (EPS) came in at  R10.71 vs guidance of R10.30-R11.06. Headline earnings per share (HEPS)  was up by 16.9% to R11.54. MTN declared a final dividend of R3.30 vs a year-ago of R3.00.

Absa Group reported a 13% rise in full year profit. Headline earnings per share was  R24.86  up from R21.47 posted a year earlier. ABSA declared a dividend of R13.00 per share. The bank also said that  high unemployment and electricity supply is expected to remain a significant economic risk for the foreseeable future.

Naspers said that they are closing the R1.4 billion SA-focused technology investment fund, Foundry, as the group cuts down on operations. Naspers will continue to maintain investments in successful startups. Naspers will not have a dedicated team looking exclusively at SA startups and will instead align these efforts with its international approach.

 

SA Economy:

The National Education, Health and Allied Workers Union (NEHAWU) said that the strike will intensify this week. The union wants a 10% wage increase for the 2022/23 financial year, but the government has offered them 4.7%.

 

Global Economy:

The annual inflation rate in Germany was confirmed at 8.7% in February 2023, not far from the peak of 8.8% seen in October and November,  remaining well above the European Central Bank’s target of about 2%.

The US economy created 311 000 jobs in February, above the 225 000 estimated. The unemployment rate rose to 3.6%. Average hourly earnings rose 0.2%.

Investors now look ahead to the US inflation data due out tomorrow.

 

Global Company:

The FTSE 100 closed 1.7% lower at 7 748, as hints of stress in the US banking system rattled global markets.

The Hang Seng Index is higher by 1.8% to 19 664, on news that US regulators said that all Silicon Valley Bank depositors will have access to their money from today.

In China, the Shanghai Composite is up 0.73% to 3 253.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 1.08% lower to 31 909, while the S&P 500 was down 1.47% to 3 861. For the week, the Dow and  S&P 500 lost 4.55%, respectively.594

 

Commodities:

Gold is up 1.76% to $1 862/oz, while Platinum is higher by 1.34% to $959.70/oz.

Brent crude was 1.44% higher at $82.78 a barrel.

 

Currencies:

The rand traded at R18.10 against the US Dollar, R21.22 against British Pound and R19.22 against the Euro.

The Euro is slightly firmer against the US Dollar to trade at $1.0892.