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The local bourse edged higher on Tuesday on the back of broad-based gains across all the major indices.
Although modest, most global markets recorded gains on the day starting off in Asia where the Nikkei and Hang Seng added 0.81% and 0.52% respectively, while the Shanghai Composite Index only closed 0.02% firmer. Stocks traded mostly firmer in Europe while US stocks opened marginally firmer on the day.
Global market participants are waiting for US President Donald Trump's remarks at the Economic Club of New York which are expected at 19:00. Focus will primarily be on his stance with regards to potential roll back of tariffs levied on China given his recent comments on the same topic last Friday.
The rand found some traction in today's session as it strengthened to a session high of R14.80/$. The local unit retreated from this high to be recorded trading 0.05% weaker at R14.88/$ at 17:00.
On The JSE, Telkom [JSE:TKG] grabbed headlines following the release of half-year results which showed declines in earnings. However, the company issued a cautionary statement stating that they are in discussions in relation to a potential acquisition. This saw the stock being catapulted 6.68% to close at R66.14.
Blue Label Telecoms [JSE:BLU] had another stellar session as
it surged 9.34% to close at R2.81. Platinum miner, Anglo American Platinum
[JSE:AMS] climbed 4.71% as it closed at R1183.14, while Impala Platinum
[JSE:IMP] gained 4.23% to close at R107.92. Sibanye Gold [JSE:SGL] rallied 2.95%
to close at R26.55, while Kumba Iron Ore [JSE:KIO] rose 2.34% to end the day at
R368.44.
Retailer, Truworths [JSE:TRU] was buoyed by the firmer rand which saw it close 2.33% higher at R51.00, while Massmart [JSE:MSM] closed at R44.68 after adding 1.11%.
Nampak [JSE:NPK] briefly traded below R7.00 as it reached a session low of R6.85. The stock eventually closed 3.1% lower at R7.20. A volatile session ensued for Assore [JSE:ASR] before it closed 5.62% lower at R223.80. Sappi [JSE:SAP] fell 3.71% to end the day at R35.82, while Reunert [JSE:RLO] dropped 3.44% to close at R66.05.
Rand hedge Bid Corporation [JSE:BID] shed 0.87% to close at R341.21, while Mondi [JSE:MNP] closed 0.3% softer at R316.89. Other significant losers on the day included Multichoice Group [JSE:MCG] which lost 3.59% to close at R128.63 and Investec [JSE:INP] which closed at R83.23 after dropping 1.75%.
The JSE Top-40 index eventually closed 0.57% higher while the broader JSE All-Share index added 0.49%. Industrials gained 0.52%, financials added 0.42%, and resources firmed 0.7%.
At 17:00, platinum was down 0.9% to trade at $867.90/Oz, gold had shed 0.23% to trade at $1451.26/Oz, and palladium was 0.64% firmer at $1698.69/Oz.
Brent crude held on to its overnight gains as it was recorded trading 0.69% firmer at $62.61/barrel just after the JSE close.
*Musa Makoni is a trading specialist at Purple Group
