18th Aug 2022 11:04
(Alliance News) - Stocks in Johannesburg remained mixed in midday trade on Thursday, as disappointing wholesale data failed to lift the mood after the latest monetary policy meeting minutes from the Federal Open Market Committee.
The Top 40 index was up 83.09 points, or 0.1%, at 64,239.71 on Thursday morning. The Mid Cap index was down 23.98 points at 79,749.49. The All Share index was up 77.75 points, or 0.1%, at 71,045.10.
"The key takeaway from these minutes would appear to show that there is little inclination on the part of anyone on the Federal Open Market Committee to even look at the possibility of rate cuts, and chime with more recent comments from Fed officials which suggest that we could see at least another 1.5% in rate rises by year-end, which would push the Fed Funds rate at 3.8% to 4% by year-end," CMC Markets analyst Michael Hewson commented.
The rand was weaker in midday trade. The greenback was quoted at ZAR16.68 on Thursday, up from ZAR16.67 late Wednesday.
"[T]he developments have led to a more risk-off mood in asset pricing. This suggests the rand's resilience may once again be tested in the near term, especially if the US dollar can build on the recently-renewed topside momentum," Rand Merchant Bank commented.
"However, it should be kept in mind that there is a lot of prospective rate-hike risk already priced into the US dollar, suggesting that upside on the already overvalued currency will be limited," it stated.
Elsewhere, South African wholesale trade sales fell for the third straight month in June, data from Statistics South Africa showed on Thursday.
Measured in real terms, annual wholesale trade sales dropped by 4.3% in June, worsening from a decline of 2.3% in May.
Seasonally adjusted wholesale trade sales decreased by 2.2% on the month in June, swinging from an increase of 3.5% in May.
In the second quarter of 2022, seasonally adjusted wholesale trade sales decreased by 5.6% compared with the first quarter of 2022.
On the JSE, Adcock Ingram Holdings said it expects basic earnings per share for the year to June 30 to grow 24% to 25% to between 492 Rand cents to 495 cents per share from 396.3 cents.
Further, the Midrand-based pharmaceutical manufacturer expects headline earnings per share to increase around 24% to 500 cents to 502 cents from 404.7 cents a year before.
Shares in Adcock Ingram were up 1.4%.
Meanwhile, Thungela Resources shares were trading 3.5% higher.
The company had signed an agreement with the state-owned transport utility Transnet SOC Ltd, changing terms of the existing long-term coal transportation agreement.
This comes after Transnet in April declared a force majeure, terminating the long-term agreements with local coal exporters as it battled with ongoing legal matters related to the irregular locomotive acquisition, maintenance contracts, as well as the vandalism of the coal line.
Transnet provides a crucial rail service for exporters like Thungela, transporting coal from fields in Mpumalanga to the privately held port Richards Bay Coal Terminal.
Brent oil was quoted at USD95.08 a barrel Thursday, down from USD93.03 at the equities close Wednesday.
Elsewhere, gold started to make some gains in midday trade.
Gold was quoted at USD1,767.14 an ounce, up from USD1,765.10 at the close on Wednesday.
Nonetheless, gold stocks like Gold Fields and Harmony Gold were trading down 1.0% and 1.7%, respectively.
Platinum made some gains too. The metal was quoted at USD928.10 an ounce Thursday, up against USD926.30 at the close on Wednesday.
In the US on Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average is called up 0.1%, S&P 500 called up 0.1%, and Nasdaq Composite called up 0.1%.
In Europe, the FTSE 100 was down 0.1% in London, the CAC 40 was up 0.2% in Paris and the DAX 40 was down 0.4% in Frankfurt.
By Abby Amoakuh; [email protected]
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