22nd Oct 2024 11:13
(Alliance News) - Stock prices in Johannesburg were lower at midday on Tuesday, after data from the South African Reserve Bank showed that South Africa's leading indicator declined on a monthly basis in August.
The FTSE JSE Top 40 index was down 887.62 points, or 1.1%, at 78,158.91. The mid-cap index was down 912.48 points, or 1.0%, at 91,482.30, while the All-Share index was down 889.06 points, or 1.0%, at 86,187.49.
The composite leading business cycle indicator fell by 0.7% in August from July, after rising by 0.7% in July from June, as decreases in seven of the ten available component time series outweighed increases in the remaining three.
The largest negative contributors were a deceleration in the six-month smoothed growth rate of the real M1 money supply and a decrease in South Africa's dollar-denominated export commodity price index.
On an annual basis, the leading indicator rose by 2.4% in August, slowing from 4.0% growth in July.
The composite coincident business cycle indicator inched up by 0.4% on-month in July from a rise of 0.1% in June due to increases in industrial production and the real value of retail and new vehicle sales.
Annually, however, the coincident indicator fell by 1.2% in July from a decline of 1.6% in June.
The rand was stronger around midday in Johannesburg. The dollar fell to ZAR17.62 late Tuesday, from ZAR17.65 at the time of the local equities close on Monday.
The yield on the benchmark R186 government bond was quoted 8.38%, widening from 8.33%.
On the JSE, We Buy Cars fell 0.4%.
The Centurion-based used-vehicle company said it expects non-core, once-off transaction costs and non-cash call option derivative accounting adjustments to hurt its annual earnings.
It guided for earnings per share of between 85.4 rand cents and 97.7 cents for the financial year that ended September 30, from 245.9 cents a year earlier, translating to a decline of between 60% and 65%.
Sasfin was flat despite reporting on Tuesday its annual loss widened due mainly to worsening credit impairment charges, one-off costs and lost revenue as the group got rid of non-core assets.
Among notable losers, Sasol shed 5.4%.
Sasol said on Tuesday it grappled with a stronger rand, volatile oil prices and shrinking refining margins for the first three months of its financial year.
The Sandton-based petrochemicals group revised down 2025 financial year guidance for Natref and fuels sales volumes. But it indicated that annual estimates remain largely intact across other business segments.
Brent was quoted at USD74.72 a barrel, up from USD73.79 a day earlier. Gold was quoted at USD2,730.30 an ounce, up from USD2,720.10. An ounce of platinum traded at USD1,018.20, up from USD1,009.20.
In Europe, London's FTSE 100 was down 0.7%, the DAX 40 in Frankfurt was down 0.1%, and the CAC 40 in Paris was down 0.6%.
According to the Office for National Statistics, UK public sector net borrowing amounted to GBP16.61 billion in September, stretching from GBP13.02 billion in August and GBP14.48 billion a year prior.
It was the "third highest September borrowing since monthly records began in January 1993", the ONS said.
"The interest payable on central government debt was GBP5.6 billion in September 2024, GBP4.6 billion more than in September 2023; this was owing to the interest payable in September 2023 being exceptionally low at GBP900 million because of movements in the retail price index around that time, rather than September 2024's interest being unusually high."
Public sector net debt, excluding public sector banks, was estimated at 98.5% of gross domestic product in September, sitting at levels last seen since the "early 1960s", but fading slightly from 98.8% in August. Net debt to GDP was at 86.2% in September 2023.
"Excluding the Bank of England, debt was 91.2% of GDP, 5.0 percentage points more than at the end of September 2023 but 7.3 percentage points lower than the wider debt measure," the ONS added.
In New York stocks were called lower. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was called down 0.4%, the S&P 500 down 0.5% and the Nasdaq Composite down 0.6%.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has arrived in the Middle East for his eleventh trip since war broke out over a year ago.
Blinken "will discuss the importance of bringing the war in Gaza to an end, securing the release of all hostages and alleviating the suffering of the Palestinian people," a State Department statement official said.
Blinken will also discuss post-war arrangements critical for a peace deal and seek a "diplomatic resolution" in Lebanon, where the US has stopped short of urging an immediate ceasefire.
The trip comes days after Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin warned Israel that the US could withhold some of its billions of dollars in military aid unless more humanitarian assistance is allowed into Gaza, where the UN warns more than 1.8 million people are facing extreme hunger.
By Holly Beveridge, Alliance News senior reporter
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