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Johannesburg - The strong demand for Richemont [JSE:CFR] shares on the JSE gained momentum on Thursday, when the company reported an unexpected gain in Christmas season revenue.
The share price of the dual-listed giant was almost 6% higher by mid-morning on Thursday, after it closed more than 4% stronger on both the previous days. At that stage it was more than 7% higher in Zurich.
Richemont was also the busiest share on the JSE in early morning trade, with almost 6 million shares sold for more than R598m.
By mid-morning the share price was 5.69% higher at R102.75. This was the first time since March last year that it traded higher than R100. At Thursday morning’s level, it is also more than 27% higher than the 52-week low of R79.54 reached in August last year.
The market got wind of the good news earlier this week and it was confirmed on Thursday morning that Richemont, the maker of Cartier necklaces and IWC Schaffhausen timepieces, reported an unexpected gain in festive season revenue. It was boosted by demand for luxury jewellery and a rebound in watch sales at its own stores.
READ: Richemont reports Christmas boost on watch rebound
Revenue gained 5% excluding currency shifts in the three months through December, the Geneva-based company said on Thursday. Analysts had predicted flat sales for Richemont’s third quarter. Sales improved in all regions and businesses, giving Richemont some respite after revenue fell 12% in the first half.
Richemont is one of the heavyweights in the industrial sector, but its gains had a limited effect on the Industrial index. By mid-morning the index was 0.18% higher after Naspers [JSE:NPN], the biggest share in the index and on the JSE, lost 2.05% to R2 185.00 due to some profit-taking after gaining almost 10% over the previous seven days.
The pattern on the market was similar to the previous two days with investors taking profits in early trade, but the indices moved upward again thanks to the FTSE index in London which set yet another record on Wednesday.
By mid-morning the All-share index was 0.42% higher at 52 657 points, while the Top 40 index traded 0.47% stronger at 45 960 points.
The Resources index was 1.27% higher, due to strong commodity prices and a softer dollar after the long-awaited news conference by US president-elect Donald Trump delivered no news to drive the markets. The weaker dollar also pushed the Gold index 3.46% higher. The gold price was back above $1 200 per ounce, trading 1.28% higher at R1 203.50.
Trump's briefing provided scant clarity on future fiscal policies, disappointing bulls wagering on major stimulus. It contained no details on tax cuts and infrastructure spending, two factors that had fuelled the five-week rally in stocks and a selloff in global bond markets.
Yet neither did Trump mention possible tariffs against Chinese exports, a relief for Asian share markets which have feared the outbreak of a global trade war.
In the resources sector, BHP Billiton [JSE:BIL] and Anglo American [JSE:AGL] were quickly approaching the 52-week highs set in December last year. BHP Billiton was 1.34% higher at R242.90, just 36c below the 52-week high of R243.26. Anglo American gained 1.38% to R219.53, also just below the 52-week high of R220.70.
Glencore [JSE:GLN], the other dual-listed commodity giant, was more subdued and traded only 0.25% stronger at R52.37. The share price, which reached a 52-week high of R52.89 in December, gained almost 9% over the previous seven days.
In the gold sector AngloGold Ashanti [JSE:ANG] traded 4.58% stronger at R164.33 and Sibanye [JSE:SGL] was 1.82% higher at R27.35.
Retail shares were among the busiest on the JSE, although prices did not move much. Woolworths [JSE:WHL] was the second-busiest share; more than 5.7 million stocks were traded for R373m as the price dropped 0.41% to R64.96. It has lost more than 9% over the previous seven days and is now 19.2% weaker over the past 90 days.
Shoprite [JSE:SHP] was 0.16% softer in busy trade at R169.90, and the share lost only 1.9% over the past seven days.
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