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Port Elizabeth - The JSE continued to reach record highs this week with shares of SA's largest companies still running strong. While mining companies posted only modest gains during the week - with a few running out of steam like an Eskom power station choking on wet coal - other sectors were strong.
The stronger rand suggested that foreigners are back in the market, loading up on favourites such as Sasol [JSE:SOL], which gained nearly R36 this week to R582.
Bidvest [JSE:BVT] added nearly R10 to R263, Tiger Brands [JSE:TBS] gained R16 to above R260 and Aspen [JSE:APN] continued its upward trend, adding R13 to R286.
Retail shares increased noticeably after losing their shine a few weeks ago when the SA Reserve Bank hiked interest rates. Most, if not all, are now higher than levels before the interest rate increase.
Cashbuild [JSE:CSB], Massmart [JSE:MSM], Mr Price [JSE:MPC] and Truworths [JSE:TRU] all chalked up good gains last week. MTN Group [JSE:MTN] announced good results for the year to December and investors marked up the share by a few cents.
Sanlam [JSE:SLM] attracted attention when it announced an increase of nearly 40% in earnings for the year to December. The share increased only a few cents - indicating that the good results did not come as a surprise.
The week ahead
Interim results from Sasol for the six months to December 2013 will show if the recent increase in the share has been justified, while JSE Ltd [JSE:JSE] will post its annual results on Wednesday - bound to be good as it operates a monopoly on both share transactions and the dissemination of share market information.
Of special interest this week will be a host of very important economic announcements.
StatsSA will announce mining and manufacturing production figures, while Naamsa will report on local new car sales in January, as well as car exports.
Wednesday sees the publication of the Reserve Bank's quarterly bulletin for the last quarter of 2013, which will give a full overview on our economy. At this point in time, the bulletin should be read slowly and with great concentration.
The stronger rand suggested that foreigners are back in the market, loading up on favourites such as Sasol [JSE:SOL], which gained nearly R36 this week to R582.
Bidvest [JSE:BVT] added nearly R10 to R263, Tiger Brands [JSE:TBS] gained R16 to above R260 and Aspen [JSE:APN] continued its upward trend, adding R13 to R286.
Retail shares increased noticeably after losing their shine a few weeks ago when the SA Reserve Bank hiked interest rates. Most, if not all, are now higher than levels before the interest rate increase.
Cashbuild [JSE:CSB], Massmart [JSE:MSM], Mr Price [JSE:MPC] and Truworths [JSE:TRU] all chalked up good gains last week. MTN Group [JSE:MTN] announced good results for the year to December and investors marked up the share by a few cents.
Sanlam [JSE:SLM] attracted attention when it announced an increase of nearly 40% in earnings for the year to December. The share increased only a few cents - indicating that the good results did not come as a surprise.
The week ahead
Interim results from Sasol for the six months to December 2013 will show if the recent increase in the share has been justified, while JSE Ltd [JSE:JSE] will post its annual results on Wednesday - bound to be good as it operates a monopoly on both share transactions and the dissemination of share market information.
Of special interest this week will be a host of very important economic announcements.
StatsSA will announce mining and manufacturing production figures, while Naamsa will report on local new car sales in January, as well as car exports.
Wednesday sees the publication of the Reserve Bank's quarterly bulletin for the last quarter of 2013, which will give a full overview on our economy. At this point in time, the bulletin should be read slowly and with great concentration.
