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Cape Town – The JSE climbed higher to close at a record 58 309 points on Monday, boosted by buoyant gold and resource prices.
The rand weakened marginally to R13.28 against the dollar, with the local currency having strengthened from R13.86 seen last week Monday.
The All Share index gained 0.50%, while the blue-chip JSE Top 40 gained 0.51%.
The market was well supported as all major sectors closed in the green, with gold miners climbing 3.13% and Resources gaining 1.16% on the back of stronger commodity prices.
Industrials, meanwhile, closed up 0.40% and Financials ended the day closing 0.12% higher.
Naspers [JSE:NPN] continued to bolster the local market, climbing 1.66% to R3 253.77 on the back of a strong finish from its Chinese investment, Tencent. Tencent represents the largest part of Naspers income and market value, with Naspers trading at a discount to their stake in Tencent.
Dischem [JSE:DCP] gained 3.69% to reach a fresh high of R33.70, as investors anticipate a positive set of results this week. The share originally listed at R18.25 in November of 2016.
Precious metals
Palladium breached $1000 per ounce for the first time since 2001 amid growing demand for the metal in catalytic converters devices for petrol-powered vehicles. The metal is one of this year’s best performing commodities, advancing 48%, more than three times the increase in gold and about ten times the gain in its sister metal platinum.
The spot price of palladium eased to $980/Oz at the close of the JSE.
In Europe, investors are digesting the latest election news coming out of Austria.
31-year-old Sebastian Kurz has declared victory for his People's Party, setting him up to become Europe's youngest leader and putting the country on course for a nationalist political space.
Austria's ATX has so far returned 27% in the year to date, making it the continent's best-performing developed stock market this year.
Brent crude on Monday climbed 0.75% to reach $57.60/bbl as geopolitical issues in Iraq send oil higher. Iraqi troops have seized parts of the oil-rich Kurdish region surrounding Kirkuk, escalating tensions.
The Kurdistan Referendum at the end of September was expected to be followed by harsh rhetoric stances from both the Iraqi government and the Kurds. Clashes between the two forces will result in damage to infrastructure and disruption of oil supply, increasing the price.
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