Bulls n Bears Daily Market Commentary : 24 April 2019

Thu Apr 25 07:52:06 CAT 2019

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Bulls n Bears Daily Market Commentary : 24 April 2019

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Zimbabwe Stock Exchange Update

Market Turnover RTGS$ 11,889,345.36 with foreign buys at RTGS$ 8,970,071.26
and foreign sales were RTGS$ 8,407,983.10. Total trades were 178.

The All Share index added 0.48 points  to close at 127.00 points. OLD MUTUAL
LIMITED  led the movers with a $0.3525 gain to close at $8.8735, DELTA  rose
by $0.0987 to settle at $2.4572 and HIPPO VALLEY ESTATES  traded $0.0835
higher at $1.5025. AFRICAN SUN  increased by $0.0314 to settle at $0.1914
and OK ZIMBABWE  was $0.0222 firmer at $0.2497.

Trading in the negative was LAFARGE  which lost $0.2300 to end at $1.1000,
BRITISH AMERICAN TOBACCO  eased $0.1591 to settle at $29.3409 and MEIKLES
was $0.0588 down at $0.5112. ECONET also decreased by $0.0489 to close at
$1.0009 and INNSCOR  traded $0.0423 weaker at $1.5102.

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  Global Currencies & Equity Markets

South Africa

South Africa's rand weakens as consumer confidence declines, stocks down

(Reuters) - South Africa’s rand slipped to a three-week low on Wednesday as
the consumer confidence index showed a decline in the first quarter of 2019,
while stocks also weakened.

At 1500 GMT the rand traded at 14.40 to the dollar, a 1.03 percent retreat
from its New York close on Tuesday.

Investor appetite for the dollar strengthened as economic data showed sales
of single-family homes jumped to a near 1-1/2-year high in March.

Consumer confidence dipped in the first quarter of 2019 to +2 from +7 in the
final quarter of 2018. Consumers were neither optimistic nor pessimistic
about the outlook two weeks ahead of a national election seen as a
referendum on the economy.

In government bonds, the yield on the benchmark issue due in 2026 rose 2
basis points to 8.57 percent.

The bourse ended lower on Thursday, snapping a four-day winning streak as
traders followed in the footsteps of other emerging markets.

The benchmark JSE Top-40 index ended 0.74 percent down at 52,785 while the
broader All-share index slipped by almost the same margin to 59,102.

Kenya

Kenyan shilling weakens on energy sector demand

(Reuters) - The Kenyan shilling weakened against the dollar on Wednesday due
to dollar demand from the energy sector firms and excess local currency
liquidity in the money market, traders said. 

At 0844 GMT, commercial banks quoted the shilling at 101.50/70 per dollar,
compared with 101.40/60 at Tuesday's close.   

       <mailto:info at bulls.co.zw> 

Asia

Asian shares slip; German, Korean data hurt risk appetite

(Reuters) - Asian shares slipped on Thursday as a surprise deterioration in
German and South Korean economic data rekindled fears of slowing global
growth, while oil prices pulled back slightly after a sharp run-up earlier
in the week.

The Japanese yen weakened marginally to near 112 a dollar after the Bank of
Japan kept policy unchanged at a review on Thursday but pledged to keep
interest rates very low at least until early 2020.

It had previously merely said it would keep current extremely low levels of
rates for an extended period of time. The BOJ also said it would explore
lending ETFs to the market.

The euro steadied after slumping to a 22-month low of $1.114 to the U.S.
dollar overnight, driven by a drop in German business confidence which
highlighted the divergence between data in the euro zone and the United
States.

Data showing the South Korean economy unexpectedly contracted in the first
quarter of the year also fuelled worries about the dual-speed nature of the
global economy.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan eased 0.27
percent, while Japan’s Nikkei average rose 0.4 percent to 22,280.99 points.

Overnight, Wall Street shrugged off some earnings misses but drifted lower
at the end of the session, after the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite
registered record closing highs on Tuesday.

Chotaro Morita, chief rates strategist at SMBC Nikko Securities, noted hopes
that the Chinese economy is bottoming out have contributed to recent rallies
in global equities.

In the currency market, the dollar index, which measures the greenback
versus a basket of six major peers, rose to as high as 98.189 overnight, its
highest level since May 2017. The index was last quoted at 98.02, down 0.15
percent on the day.

The euro sat at $1.1157, a day after suffering its biggest one-day loss
against the dollar since early March.

The deteriorating reading on German business morale, in a survey by the IFO
economic institute, bucked expectations for a small improvement.

The British pound held at a two-month low, weighed down by a broad-based
rally in the dollar and fading hopes of a breakthrough in Brexit talks
between the British government and the opposition. The currency pair last
stood at $1.291, slightly higher on the day.

U.S. Treasury yields fell across maturities on Wednesday as investors piled
into the safe-haven asset after a slew of weak international economic data.

A sharp slowdown in Australian inflation also lifted bond prices, while
Premier Li Keqiang in China said authorities should not underestimate the
difficulties in the Chinese economy, adding to concerns about global demand.

However, the U.S. yield curve steepened to its widest level since November
at one time on Wednesday, which some investors took as a bullish sign for
the economy. An inversion in the yield curve last month spooked some
investors as it has preceded a recession in the past.

Also, some upbeat earnings results from major U.S. tech firms after the New
York close helped to lift the mood, traders say.

Microsoft Corp briefly topped $1 trillion in value for the first time after
executives predicted continued growth for its cloud computing business,
while Facebook Inc blew past Wall Street profit estimates in the first
quarter.

In commodities, oil prices hovered below six-month highs on Thursday as
record U.S. output and rising crude stockpiles dampened the impact on
markets of tighter U.S. sanctions on Iran and producer club OPEC’s continued
curbs on supply.

Brent crude futures ticked down 0.1 percent to $74.51 a barrel, while U.S.
West Texas Intermediate crude futures dropped 0.2 percent to $65.73 a
barrel. Both benchmarks hit 5-1/2-month highs on Tuesday.

Investors are also awaiting the next batch of quarterly earnings and U.S.
gross domestic product (GDP) data for the January-March quarter, due on
Friday, for signs on whether the recent stock rally can continue.

Economists polled by Reuters expect the U.S. GDP to have grown an annualised
2.1 percent in the first three months of this year, largely keeping the pace
from 2.2 percent expansion in the preceding quarter.

 <mailto:info at bulls.co.zw> 

Commodities Markets

Shanghai aluminium hits near 6-month high as demand seen rebounding

(Reuters) - Most base metals rose on  Thursday on hopes of a U.S.-China
trade deal, with Shanghai aluminium hitting a near six-month peak on
expectations of higher consumption and lower stocks.     

    FUNDAMENTALS

* ALUMINIUM: The most traded June aluminium contract on the Shanghai Futures
Exchange rose 0.8 percent to 14,270 yuan ($2,120.83) a tonne, the highest
since Oct. 31 by mid-day,

further easing pressure on Chinese smelters' margins.

* ALUMINIUM STOCKS: Aluminium inventories in London Metal Exchange
warehouses fell by 14,175 tonnes on Wednesday to 1.03 million tonnes, the
lowest since October MAL-STOCKS.  

* COLUMN: Global aluminium output flatlines as outages offset ramp-ups: Andy
Home  

* COPPER: ShFE copper rose 0.6 percent to 49,270 yuan a tonne, while
three-month LME copper eased 0.1 percent to $6,443 a tonne by 0440 GMT,
after closing up 0.6 percent on Wednesday.

* COPPER: The world's top copper miner Codelco has added its first hybrid
dumptruck to its fleet at its El Teniente mine, the  company said on
Wednesday, in a global mining industry that s increasingly seeking to reduce
its emissions and environmental footprint.    

* TRADE: U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary
Steven Mnuchin will travel to Beijing for trade talks beginning on April 30,
the White House said in a statement on Tuesday.

* VALE: Brazilian miner Vale SA has filed a lawsuit in the United States
against BSG Resources Ltd to force the firm to pay Vale $1.2 billion, as
mandated by an arbitrator, the company said on Wednesday.

* DEEPSEA MINING: China and a quest for battery minerals have injected
momentum into a long U.N. process to agree a law  on deep sea mining, which
could be adopted by the end of 020, if the political will exists, the head
of the International Seabed Authority (ISA) said.   

Gold eases as dollar hovers near 2-year high

(Reuters) - Gold prices eased on Thursday as the dollar remained near a
two-year high hit in the previous session, while a dip in equities and weak
data from Germany augmented worries about the pace of global growth and
cushioned losses in the safe-haven bullion.

FUNDAMENTALS

* Spot gold was down 0.1 percent at $1,274.21 per ounce, as of 0106 GMT.

* U.S. gold futures slipped 0.2 percent to $1,276.40 an ounce.

* The euro nursed losses against the dollar on Thursday after dipping to a
22-month low on a surprise drop in a leading indicator for economic activity
in Germany, amplifying worries of a growth slowdown in Europe’s largest
economy.

* The dollar rallied to a 23-month high of 98.189 against a basket of key
rivals.

* Asian shares eased in early trade on Thursday after data showed a surprise
deterioration in German business morale, raising fears of slowing global
growth and weighing on a gauge of world equity markets, including Wall
Street.

* German business morale deteriorated in April, bucking expectations for a
small improvement, as trade tensions hurt the industrial engine of Europe’s
largest economy, leaving domestic demand to support slowing growth.

* Gold is often used as a hedge against economic and political
uncertainties.

* The Bank of Canada held interest rates steady on Wednesday as expected but
removed wording around the need for future hikes and lowered its growth
forecast for 2019, cementing the market’s view that further increases are
off the table for now.

* U.S. Treasury yields were lower across maturities on Wednesday as
investors piled into the safe-haven government bonds following a dovish
report from Canada’s central bank, weak data from Germany and Australia, and
solid demand at auction for $41 billion of new five-year notes.

* Billions of dollars’ worth of gold is being smuggled out of Africa every
year through the United Arab Emirates in the Middle East – a gateway to
markets in Europe, the United States and beyond – a Reuters analysis has
found.

* SPDR Gold Trust, the world’s largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund,
said its holdings fell 0.23 percent to 747.87 tonnes on Wednesday from
749.63 tonnes on Tuesday.

* Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif does not believe U.S.
President Donald Trump wants war with Iran, but he told Reuters on Wednesday
that Trump could be lured into a conflict.

INVESTORS DIARY 2019

Company

Event

Venue

Date & Time

Zimbabwe 

Independence Day

Zimbabwe

18 Apr 2019 

Good Friday

19 Apr 2019

Easter Saturday

20 Apr 2019

Easter Sunday

21 Apr 2019

Easter Monday

22 Apr 2019

Workers Day

01 May  2019

Africa Day

25 May 2019

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DISCLAIMER: This report has been prepared by Bulls ‘n Bears, a division of
Faith Capital (Pvt) Ltd for general information purposes only and does not
constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy or
subscribe for any securities. The information contained in this report has
been compiled from sources believed to be reliable, but no representation or
warranty is made or guarantee given as to its accuracy or completeness. All
opinions expressed and recommendations made are subject to change without
notice. Securities or financial instruments mentioned herein may not be
suitable for all investors. Securities of emerging and mid-size growth
companies typically involve a higher degree of risk and more volatility than
the securities of more established companies. Neither Faith Capital nor any
other member of Bulls ‘n Bears nor any other person, accepts any liability
whatsoever for any loss howsoever arising from any use of this report or its
contents or otherwise arising in connection therewith. Recipients of this
report shall be solely responsible for making their own independent
investigation into the business, financial condition and future prospects of
any companies referred to in this report. Other  Indices quoted herein are
for guideline purposes only and sourced from third parties.

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