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Cape Town - The JSE jumped on Tuesday after South African GDP data released by Stats SA came in higher than market estimates.
South Africa’s GDP annualised quarter-on-quarter number was recorded at 3.1% which beat estimates of 1.8%. The year-on-year number was recorded at 1.5% which is higher than the prior recording of 0.8%.
A combination of this GDP data and a weaker US dollar saw the rand firming against the greenback by more than 0.5% to reach an intra-day high of R11.71/$. The rand was trading at R11.75/$ at 17:00 CAT.
The JSE opened firmer and continued to climb for the entirety of Tuesday's trading session as the bullish sentiment particularly in the banking and finance sectors continued. Truworths International [JSE:TRU] led from the front as it gained 6.12% to close at R111.40 per share, whilst other retailers such as Pick n Pay [JSE:PIK] and Shoprite [JSE:SHP] gained 4.50% and 2.78% respectively.
Fortress B [JSE:FFB] and Resilient [JSE:RES] found some relief as they gained 5.10% and 3.07% on the day.
Anglo American PLC [JSE:AGL] had a good day out as it gained 4.65% to close at R285.84 per share, whilst Sappi [JSE:SAP] and Bidvest [JSE:BVT] gained 2.85% and 3.09% respectively. Tiger Brands [JSE:TBS] gained 2.45% despite the current recall of some of its products from supermarket shelves due to the listeriosis outbreak.
Other processed food stocks such as Astral Foods [JSE:ARL] and RCL Foods [JSE:RCL] gained 7.15% and 2.28% respectively, whilst Clover Industries [JSE:CLR] jumped 3.68% on the back of a decent set of earnings results.
A couple of blue chip stocks were marginally lower, particularly Vodacom [JSE:VOD] and British American Tobacco [JSE:BTI] which lost 0.51% and 0.83% respectively.
On the broader index Brait [JSE:BAT] lost 2.49% to close at R40.75 per share, whilst Murray & Roberts [JSE:MUR] and Adcock Ingram [JSE:AIP] shed 1.23% and 1.71% respectively. Tradehold [JSE:TDH] and Cashbuild [JSE:CSB] were among the biggest losers as they lost 6.92% and 3.96% respectively.
It was a good day out for all the major indices on the JSE as they all closed in the green. The JSE All-Share Index jumped 2.30% whilst the blue-chip Top-40 Index gained 2.42%. The Resources Index was the biggest gainer as it climbed 3.41%. The Financials Index gained 2.08% whilst the Industrials Index firmed by 2.17%.
Despite a minor slip in the early morning, session Brent Crude quickly rebounded to reach a day’s high of $66.16/barrel. Just after the JSE close it had retraced and it was trading at $65.68/barrel.
Gold gained some momentum as the US dollar slid. The precious metal peaked at $1 334.17/oz before it retraced to trade at $1 331.99/oz just after the JSE close.
Platinum traded in the red briefly, but it also had a sharp spike higher due to the weaker US dollar to peak at $968.84/oz. The metal was trading at $966.19/oz just after the close.
A similar pattern was recorded in palladium and just after the close it was recorded at $987.30/oz.
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