The National Coronavirus Command Council is due to hold briefing at 12.30pm on regulations for next phase of lockdown to contain the coronavirus. President Cyril Ramaphosa said Sunday that country would be placed on an eased version of ongoing lockdown from June 1
* 8am: Public Enterprises Department briefs lawmakers on turnaround plan for state-owned diamond producer Alexkor
*11am: Reserve Bank to publish the first edition of its 2020 Financial Stability Review
* 11:30am: Mineral & Energy department briefs lawmakers on measures to combat Covid-19
* 5pm: Treasury, Public Enterprises Department brief lawmakers on state of South African Airways, Eskom
* 5pm: South African Tourism Ministry briefs lawmakers on strategic plan
NEWS:
* (SOL SJ): Sasol Has No Plans to Sell Fuel-Retail Outlets, CFO Says
* South Africa Rations Diesel After Refinery Shutdowns Curb Supply
* (ABG SJ): Absa Warning Casts Doubt on South African Banks’ 2020 Dividends
* (JSE SJ): JSE Seeks Comments on REIT Sector Relief
EARNINGS:
* 8am: Pepkor Holdings Ltd (PPH SJ)
ECONOMIC DATA
* 2pm: S&P analysts host South Africa credit-ratings call entitled ‘Are We Turning A Corner Post COVID-19?’
* 2:30pm: Crop Estimates Committee publishes fourth production estimate for summer crops
MARKETS
Yesterday the FTSE/JSE Africa All-Share Index closed up 1.1% to 50,602 lead by gains in Banks, Financials as well as Retailers boosted by a stronger Rand amid a risk-on mood globally. The Rand gained 1.5% to 17.38 vs the USD at one stage, but is currently losing some ground last at 17.47, with the Yield on 10 year govt rand bonds that fell 3.4 bps to 9.042%.
The Stoxx Europe 600 Index rose 1.1% to its highest close since early March. Travel and leisure shares rallied, led by a 52% surge in TUI AG, after a report that Germany plans to lift transport warnings, adding to optimism about tourism restarting in Europe. The FTSE 100 gained 1.2%, as the U.K. market reopened after a holiday on Monday, with the German DAX that added 1.0% and in France the CAC 40 put on 1.4%.
US stocks surged last night, adding to their strong gains from last week, as optimism grew about the reopening of the economy and a potential coronavirus vaccine. The Dow gained 529 points, or 2.2%, to close at 24,995. The 30-stock average briefly traded above 25,000 for the first time since early March before closing just below the mark. The S&P 500 rallied 1.2% to 2,991. The index traded above 3,000 for most of the session, but fell back below that level in the final minutes of trading. The Nasdaq lagged, rising just 0.2% to 9,340.22. The major averages cut their gains in the final hour of trading after a Bloomberg News report said the U.S. was considering sanctions on Chinese firms and officials over the situation in Hong Kong.
Asian stocks are mixed to lowered this morning, as investors weigh hopes for economic recovery against deepening U.S.-China strains. Japanese shares are up, with news on plans for a second
fiscal-stimulus package giving fresh encouragement for bulls. The Nikkei is up 0.71%, the Hang Seng slipping, down 0.96% (Tencent down 2.1%) and in OZ the ASX 200 turned negative, down 0.11%, with miners mostly weighing, BHP down 2.9%, RIO -2.4% and South32 +3.0%.
Oil slipped from the highest settlement in 11 weeks on signs Russia was planning to start easing supply cuts from July, while tensions between the U.S. and China escalated amid the specter of sanctions, with West Texas Intermediate crude that dipped 1.9% to $33.70 a barrel. Gold is slightly lower at $1,706.37 an ounce, with Platinum easing slightly, -0.41%, but Palladium +0.88%.
The FTSE/JSE Top 40 future is pointing to a slightly lower start on easing Asian markets, down 101 points or -0.21%.
Have a good day.