The JSE closed higher on Monday as it followed the trend in Europe where stocks rallied on the back of hopes of an Italian deficit cut.
The Italian government is taking measures to rework its spending plans which have become a major cause of concern for the European Union (EU). There was also positive news for the British Prime Minister Theresa May as she managed to clinch a divorce deal with the EU on Sunday. May will now seek to get the deal approved through the British Parliament.
On the JSE industrials and financials rallied to lead gains on the local index. Grindrod [JSE:GND] closed amongst the day’s biggest gainers after closing 9.97% higher at R6.51.
Pepkor Holdings [JSE:PPH] was also buoyant despite a censure being imposed on it by the JSE. The stock gained 7.55% to close at R19.79.
Old Mutual [JSE:OMU] added 6.67% to close at R23.52, while Motus Holdings [JSE:MTH] gained 6.35% to R91.05.
Financials were buoyed by the firmer rand which saw stocks such as FirstRand [JSE:FSR] add 4.61% to close at R69.95, while ABSA Group [JSE:ABG] gained 3.21% to R157.37.
Retailer, Woolworths Holdings [JSE:WHL] gained 4.54% to R56.90,and its sector peer, Massmart [JSE:MSM] firmed by 4.09% to close at R105.65. Mediclinic [JSE:MEI] rose 5.28% to R64.05, while Life Healthcare [JSE:LHC] closed at R27.70 after gaining 4.84%.
Arrowhead Properties [JSE:AWA] closed as the day’s biggest loser mainly on the back of the company’s half-year results released today which were relatively worse than anticipated.
The stock fell 14% to close at R3.50. Miners also came under pressure on the day which saw African Rainbow Minerals [JSE:ARI] drop 7.66% to close at R123.73, while Kumba Iron Ore [JSE:KIO] lost 5.38% to close at R264.91. PPC Ltd [JSE:PPC] lost 3.36% to close at R5.75, and Exxaro Resources [JSE:EXX] fell 3.28% to R132.50.
The JSE Top-40 index closed the day 2.27% firmer, while the broader JSE All-Share index gained 1.96%. The industrials and financials indices rallied to end the day 2.72% and 3.22% firmer respectively, however the resources index was softer as it lost 0.09%.
At 17:00, gold was up 0.03% at $1223.43/Oz, palladium was 2.23% firmer at $1145.74/Oz and platinum had lost 0.21% to trade at $841.73/Oz.
Brent crude recorded an impressive rally to peak at a session high 60.92/barrel. The commodity was up 3.27% to trade at $60.72/barrel just after the JSE close.
At 17:00, Bitcoin was down 0.64% at $3873.30/coin, while Ethereum had lost 1.17% to trade at $111.50/coin.
* Musa Makoni is a trading specialist at GT247.com
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