During Tuesday's trading session on the local markets, the Top 40 closed the day up by 1.04%, while the Resources 10 sector rose by 1.57%, the Financial 15 sector increased by 0.92%, and the Industrial 25 sector gained 0.83%. The rand stood at R17.93 against the US Dollar, R22.33 against the pound, and R19.59 against the Euro. Notably, Harmony Gold, DRD Gold, Anglo Gold Ashanti, and Goldfields reached 52-week highs, as gold stocks and the underlying commodity surged on recessionary fears.
Figure 1: Harmony Golds historical share price chart (Source: ThinkTrader)
As for commodities, Brent Crude oil traded at $85.29 a barrel, and WTI Crude oil was trading at $80.84 a barrel. The Gold price currently trades at $2025.71, Platinum is now trading at $1025.63, and Palladium is at $1461.00.
Globally, the S&P 500, Dow Jones, and Nasdaq closed down by 0.58%, 0.59%, and 0.52%, respectively. The FTSE 100 was up by 0.54%, the DAX was down by 0.31%, and the CAC40 was up by 0.32%. In the Asian markets, the Nikkei 225 is currently up by 0.35%, and the Heng Seng is currently down by 0.61%.
The JSE closed on a positive note, with investors considering US jobs data and the prospects of higher interest rates for longer after a surprise cut in oil supply fueled inflation fears. The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey for February released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics indicated the largest decreases in job openings were in professional and business services, healthcare and social assistance, transportation, warehousing, and utilities.
The surprise decision by Opec+ to cut crude output by 1.16-million barrels a day from May and the resulting prospect of higher oil prices add another layer of uneasiness to financial markets that are still contending with persistent inflation and higher interest rates while recovering from the mini banking crisis.
Today, in observance of the Ching Ming Festival holiday, stock markets in Hong Kong and China are closed. As a result, MSCI's Asia-Pacific index excluding Japan has remained almost unchanged.
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