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PSG daily investment update 23 May 2019
Date: 23 May 2019 Category: Stock Market |
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In our continued efforts to give our readers a broad number of views, opinions and information, we continue to provide PSG's daily market updates and add our own daily rant at the end.
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Short summary of PSG's market commentary for 23 May 2019
South Africa
Even though the JSE closed in the red on Wednesday, the local bourse maintained some momentum after local political and economic news took some risk out of domestic risk assets. The All Share fell 0.49%.
United States
US shares dropped on Wednesday, as trade tensions were heightened on reports that Washington could impose sanctions on another Chinese company, while investors awaited the release of minutes from the Federal Reserve’s latest policy meeting. At 18h30, the Nasdaq was down by 0.31%.
Europe
European shares edged lower on Wednesday as concerns over a protracted US-China trade war again worried investors, while a drop in the pound helped London’s blue-chip index outperform. At 18h30, the FTSE 100 was flat at 0.07%.
Hong Kong
Hong Kong closed higher on Wednesday, but gains were capped by rising trade worries following reports that the US could blacklist another Chinese tech firm. The Hang Seng index rose 0.18%.
Japan
The Nikkei ended flat yesterday as data showed another drop in the nation’s exports for April, which offset a few positive signs for the economy. The Nikkei closed 0.05% in the green.
Rand
The rand firmed somewhat on Wednesday after some ANC officials reportedly declined to be deployed to state positions until cleared of allegations of impropriety against them, most notably the party's deputy president, David Mabuza. At 18h30, a dollar traded at R14.38.
Precious metals
Gold prices held steady on Wednesday as the dollar strengthened, while signs of an escalation in China-US trade tensions weakened risk appetite and limited further declines. At 18h30, an ounce of gold traded at $1 274.82.
Oil
Oil prices fell on Wednesday after industry data showed an increase in US crude inventories. At 18h30, a barrel of Brent crude traded for $70.71.
Even though the JSE closed in the red on Wednesday, the local bourse maintained some momentum after local political and economic news took some risk out of domestic risk assets. The All Share fell 0.49%.
United States
US shares dropped on Wednesday, as trade tensions were heightened on reports that Washington could impose sanctions on another Chinese company, while investors awaited the release of minutes from the Federal Reserve’s latest policy meeting. At 18h30, the Nasdaq was down by 0.31%.
Europe
European shares edged lower on Wednesday as concerns over a protracted US-China trade war again worried investors, while a drop in the pound helped London’s blue-chip index outperform. At 18h30, the FTSE 100 was flat at 0.07%.
Hong Kong
Hong Kong closed higher on Wednesday, but gains were capped by rising trade worries following reports that the US could blacklist another Chinese tech firm. The Hang Seng index rose 0.18%.
Japan
The Nikkei ended flat yesterday as data showed another drop in the nation’s exports for April, which offset a few positive signs for the economy. The Nikkei closed 0.05% in the green.
Rand
The rand firmed somewhat on Wednesday after some ANC officials reportedly declined to be deployed to state positions until cleared of allegations of impropriety against them, most notably the party's deputy president, David Mabuza. At 18h30, a dollar traded at R14.38.
Precious metals
Gold prices held steady on Wednesday as the dollar strengthened, while signs of an escalation in China-US trade tensions weakened risk appetite and limited further declines. At 18h30, an ounce of gold traded at $1 274.82.
Oil
Oil prices fell on Wednesday after industry data showed an increase in US crude inventories. At 18h30, a barrel of Brent crude traded for $70.71.
Our daily update
Yesterday the stock market news was ruled by SASOL (SOL) who provided an update on their Lake Charles Chemicals Project (LCCP) in the USA. The update provided a lot of detail regarding the project but the main take away from the announcement is the fact that LCCP will cost an estimated $1.1 billion more than originally estimated. This sent shares plunging. And according to JohannBierman on Twitter it's the second biggest one day drop in the company's shares in the last 29 years. See Johann Biermann's tweet below (note data available used by Johann only goes back as far as 1990). So second worst trading day for SASOL since 1990.
The full update on SASOL's LCCP can be found here.
The full update on SASOL's LCCP can be found here.
Our JSE All Share index daily performance calendar
Visit our JSE Calendar tracker page for a expanded version of the calendar below
The graphic below provides the daily returns of the JSE All Share Index (J203) on a calendar chart. Provides a great overview of the All share index over the course of the month. It will be updated daily with our daily investment update as received from PSG.
The month of May continues to be negative, and this after 4 months of positive returns for the JSE All Share Index. As can be seen from the Calendar chart above the number of red blocks far outnumber the number of green blocks. It has been a pretty miserable month so far on the JSE, and May has wiped out almost half of the returns the market made in the first 4 months of 2019. Seems like sell in May and stay away is holding true.
For more on daily market movements see our 2019 Calendar tracker.
But we as South African investors are losing out in Dollar terms. Largely due to continued Rand weakness not only over the short term but over the last couple of years. We continue to advise investors to take money out of South Africa and invest it offshore. Looking for ideas for investments to make? Go read this article
For more on daily market movements see our 2019 Calendar tracker.
But we as South African investors are losing out in Dollar terms. Largely due to continued Rand weakness not only over the short term but over the last couple of years. We continue to advise investors to take money out of South Africa and invest it offshore. Looking for ideas for investments to make? Go read this article