In Friday’s trading session in the local markets, the Top 40 closed the day up by 0.27%. The Resources 10 sector went up by 0.62%, the Financial 15 went down by 0.74%, the Industrial 25 went up by 0.32% and lastly the South African Listed Property index down by 0.74%. The Rand traded at R14.21 against the United State Dollar, R19.66 against the Great British pound, and R16.79 against the Euro. The All Share closed the day up 0.19% as some mining stocks rebounded while technology companies failed to hold onto gains. The Rand posted its third consecutive week of gains on Friday supported by stronger local data and a risk-on mood globally supported the currency against the dollar. In terms of the latest local news, Balwin Properties revised trading statement expects consolidated EPS and HEPS for the first half to increase by between 40% and 45%. Steinhoff rises almost 6%. Pfizer jab have been approved for use on children aged 12 and older. South African government yesterday eased the restriction to advanced level 2.
On the commodities front, the Brent Crude oil is trading at $73.65 a barrel and WTI Crude oil traded at $70.45 a barrel. Gold Spot price is currently trading at $1793.02, Platinum Spot is now trading at $961.00 and lastly, Palladium Spot price is at $2144.00. Oil gained in early Asian trade on forecasts for higher demand and hurricane damage hindered the U.S. oil industry to get back on its feet. Gold declined in early Asia trade, weighed by higher U.S. treasury yields after data showed U.S. producer prices rose.
Across the globe, the S&P 500 closed the day down 0.77%, Dow Jones closed down 0.78% and the Nasdaq had a 0.77% down. The FTSE 100 closed up 0.07% and the DAX was down 0.09% and CAC40 was down 0.31%. In the Asian markets, the Nikkei 225 is down 0.03% and the Hang Seng is currently down 2.14%. S&P 500 fell 0.8% as the largest component of the benchmark index, Apple dipped 3.3% its biggest decline since May 4 after a federal judge ruled that the tech giant can no longer force developers to use in-app purchasing. In addition, Dow also fell for the 5th straight session. Chinese stocks were broadly lower in early trade, tracking losses among other Asia equities amid coronavirus concerns. Hong Kong shares slipped on worries over China's regulatory crackdown as it has been reported that Beijing is looking to break up Alipay and create a separate app for its loan business. The Nikkei Stock was down, as falls in auto stocks offset gains in chip stocks. In the latest global new, Japan PPI (YoY) (Aug) fell from 5.6% to 5.5%.
Figure 1: Apple 1 year share price graph
Things to look out for today in the trading day, OPEC Monthly Report at 13.00 pm
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