JSE flat as Naspers offsets retailer’s gains

The JSE was flat on Tuesday morning, despite a 3% jump in the JSE’s retail index.

At 10am, Truworths was up 5.32% to R77, TFG 4.1% to R176.86 and Woolworths 3.49% R46.60.

Interest-rate sensitive shares have recently found support from an easing oil price and firmer rand, which decreases the prospect of the Reserve Bank’s raising interest rates to protect the value of the currency.

Shoprite was up 3.19% to R167, despite earlier reporting that basic earnings per share fell 46.6% to 355.6c in the six months to end-December when excluding an adjustment for hyperinflation it faced in Angola. This was roughly in the middle of the company’s guidance in January.

The all share was up 0.1% to 55,934.4 points and the top 40 had risen 0.13%. Platinums were up 1.12%, general retailers 3.1% and food and drug retailers 0.79%. Industrials were off 0.11%.

Gold was down 0.18% to $1,324.83/oz while platinum was up 0.22% to $855.09. Brent crude was flat at $64.68 a barrel, having lost 3.45% so far this week.

US President Donald Trump had tweeted on Monday that he was unhappy with current oil prices, calling on oil cartel Opec to rethink its production cuts.

Diversified miner Glencore was down 0.5% to R55.52.

Naspers was down 0.44% to R3,121.45, tracking losses in its main asset, Hong Kong-listed Tencent.

The rand is expected to remain rangebound this week until new catalysts emerge. This may come on Wednesday, when producer price inflation data for January is due.

Markets are also closely watching Brexit proceedings in the UK, with British MPs expected to hold a vote on Wednesday on whether to have a second referendum, or request the extension of the March 29 Brexit deadline.

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