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Rand hedge stocks gain on JSE as local currency slides

Cape Town - The rand slipped to R14.17/$ on Tuesday after closing near R14.04/$ on Monday.

The strengthening dollar, meanwhile, further supported rand hedge stocks, with Richemont [JSE:CFR] climbing 0.73% to R130.34 per share.  

The JSE All-Share index closed the day 0.17% firmer, matched by the blue-chip JSE Top-40 index. 

The Industrials Index edged 0.13% lower, while the Financials index gained 0.26% and Resources ended the day up 0.89%.  

Platinum producers emerged as the frontrunners in trade on Tuesday, with Lonmin [JSE:LON]  gaining 5.07% to end the day at R19.48 per share, Implats [JSE:IMP] gaining 3.21% to boost its share price to R39.22, and Anglo American Platinum [JSE:AMS] rising 1.30% to finish at R265.09 a share. 

The platinum index also firmed, gaining 1.61% overall as miners react to stronger platinum prices and the weaker rand.  

South African labour force data released on Tuesday showed that the SA unemployment rate remained unchanged at 27.7% in the third quarter.

READ: Unemployment at record high for third quarter in a row

The labour force increased somewhat, while the labour absorption rate remained steady.  

Formal sector employment increased by 1.7% over the quarter, manly driven by increased employment in financial as well as community and social services industries. The informal sector recorded job losses, however. 

The statistics provide further evidence that general economic conditions remain subdued, and the economy is struggling to create jobs. 

Oil

Brent Crude continued its climb on Tuesday, trading at $61.01/bbl at the close of the local session. Sentiment remains largely bullish in the commodity as geopolitical uncertainties stem from the conflict between the Kurds and Iraqis, North Korea's nuclear ambitions, and the potential for US President Donald Trump to decertify the Iran nuclear deal.

Another positive factor is the upcoming OPEC meeting at the end of November where many expect the agreement limiting crude oil output to be extended beyond March 2018.

China's official manufacturing PMI missed expectations in October, coming in at 51.6, with both production and demand falling during a week-long national holiday.

Activities in the energy and manufacturing industries also slowed due to the country's crackdown on pollution in some regions. The official services PMI meanwhile fell to 54.3 from 55.4 in September, according to the National Bureau of Statistics

In the US, Janet Yellen is likely presiding over one of her final meetings as the Federal Open Market Committee begins its latest two-day policy get-together.

Fed Governor Jerome Powell is widely expected to be named the banks new chairperson; he has been seen as closest to Yellen of all the candidates, and is set on normalising US interest rates.


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Rand - Dollar
18.93
-0.0%
Rand - Pound
23.90
+0.0%
Rand - Euro
20.40
+0.1%
Rand - Aus dollar
12.32
+0.1%
Rand - Yen
0.13
+0.0%
Platinum
908.05
+1.2%
Palladium
1,014.94
+1.3%
Gold
2,232.75
-0.0%
Silver
24.95
-0.1%
Brent Crude
87.00
+1.8%
Top 40
68,346
0.0%
All Share
74,536
0.0%
Resource 10
57,251
0.0%
Industrial 25
103,936
0.0%
Financial 15
16,502
0.0%
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