Bulls n Bears Daily Market Commentary : 08 January 2020

Thu Jan 9 10:10:21 CAT 2020

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Bulls n Bears Daily Market Commentary : 08 January 2020

Zimbabwe Stock Exchange Update

Market Turnover ZWL$1,723,588.61 with foreign buys at ZWL$163,540.00 and
foreign sales were ZWL$844,976.50 Total trades were 88

The All Share index further advanced by 0.13 points to end at 233.80 points.
MEIKLES LIMITED  added $0.0495 to end at $2.5995, CASSAVA SMARTECH  rose by
$0.0122 to $1.4996 and FIRST MUTUAL PROPERTIES  traded $0.0100 higher at
$0.1800. PADENGA HOLDINGS also increased by $0.0093 to settle at $2.4900 and
FIRST CAPITAL BANK gained $0.0068 to $0.0972.

Trading in the negative was OLD MUTUAL LIMITED  which lost $0.5615 to
$36.4885, SEEDCO LIMITED which dropped by $0.1050 to close at $1.5000 and
WILLDALE  which traded $0.0043 lower at $0.0304. NBM BANK  also decreased by
$0.0025 to $0.4075 and DELTA  was $0.0013 weaker at $3.4576.

  Global Currencies & Equity Markets

South Africa

South African rand steadies ahead of manufacturing data

(Reuters) - South Africa’s rand steadied against the dollar early on
Thursday, as investors awaited the latest manufacturing figures for clues on
the health of the economy, amid a severe power crunch that has dimmed growth
outlook.

At 0630 GMT, the rand traded at 14.1800 per dollar, not far off its previous
close of 14.1760.

South Africa’s troubled state power utility Eskom said it would continue to
cut power until Friday after losing generating capacity overnight, with
emergency reserves insufficient to meet daytime demand.

Eskom has been battling since 2007 to keep the lights on in the continent’s
most industrialised economy, enforcing several rounds of extensive power
cuts, disrupting supplies to businesses and households across the country.

Beyond the power cuts, South African-focused investors will eye December
business confidence data at 0930 GMT and November manufacturing data due at
1100 GMT.

Manufacturing was one of the sectors hit hard by a combination of low demand
and the uncertainty over power supply in the third quarter of 2019. Gross
domestic product (GDP) in that quarter shrank 0.6%.

Away from home, market focus remained on the United States and Iran
tensions, which seemed to be easing for now.

U.S. President Donald Trump responded overnight to an Iranian attack on U.S.
forces with sanctions, not violence. Iran offered no immediate signal it
would retaliate further to a Jan. 3 U.S. strike that killed one of its
senior military commanders..

In fixed income, the yield on the benchmark government bond due in 2026 was
down 4 basis points to 8.21%. 

Kenya

Kenyan shilling holds steady against dollar

(Reuters) - The Kenyan shilling was stable against the dollar on Wednesday
mainly due to low demand for hard currency from importers, traders said.

At 0849 GMT, commercial banks quoted the shilling at 101.25/45 per dollar,
compared with 101.15/35 at Tuesday's close.

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GLOBAL MARKETS

Asian shares rebound as U.S. and Iran stand down, yen retreats

(Reuters) - Asian stocks had their best session in weeks on Thursday, as the
United States and Iran backed away from the brink of conflict in the Middle
East and investors reversed their flight to safety.

U.S. President Donald Trump responded to an Iranian attack on U.S. forces
with sanctions, not violence. Iran offered no immediate signal it would
retaliate further over a Jan. 3 U.S. strike that killed a senior military
commander.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 1.3%, its
sharpest gain in almost a month.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng and Shanghai blue chips each added more than 1%, while
Japanese stocks rose further, gaining 2% to their highest for the year so
far.

Australian stocks rose 0.8% to a record closing high. Futures markets
pointed to extended gains in Europe and the United States, with S&P 500
futures up 0.2% and German DAX futures 0.9% higher.

Investors quit the safe-haven Japanese yen, sending it sliding from a
three-month high to a two-week low of 109.32 yen per dollar.

Oil is cheaper than it was before the killing of the Iranian commander,
Qassem Soleimani, in Baghdad, a strike that raised fears of an escalating
regional conflict.

Brent futures prices steadied at $65.41 per barrel, about where they began
the year.

Gold gave back sharp gains made on Wednesday but remains dearer than before
Soleimani’s death, in an indication that investors’ fears have not
completely evaporated.

It drifted lower to $1,544.80 per ounce.

SANCTIONS NOT STRIKES

Iran fired missiles at military bases housing U.S. troops in Iraq on
Wednesday in response to Soleimani’s killing. But Trump said no Americans
were hurt and made no direct threats of a military response in an address to
the nation on Wednesday.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif had earlier said the strikes
“concluded” Tehran’s response to the killing of Soleimani.

Outside equities, U.S. Treasuries, which had soared in the flight to safety
a day ago also settled back, with yields on the benchmark 10-year U.S.
Treasury note at 1.8685%, after dropping as low as 1.705%.

Risk appetite was also evident in currency markets, with China’s
trade-exposed yuan standing at a five-month high of 6.9281 per dollar and
the Aussie creeping higher.

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Commodities Markets

Oil slides, stocks soar as Mideast conflict worries fade

(Reuters) - Oil prices tumbled and equity markets soared on Wednesday after
U.S. President Donald Trump said an Iranian missile strike on bases in Iraq
had not harmed American troops and damage was minimal, showing Tehran wanted
to de-escalate the Middle East standoff.

Iran fired missiles at military bases housing U.S. troops in Iraq in
retaliation for last week’s slaying by American drones of Iranian Major
General Qassem Soleimani, a strike that raised fears of an escalating
regional conflict.

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq stock indexes hit record highs after Trump’s remarks
and crude prices slumped, with U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate
posting a 10% slide from a peak following the Iranian attack to after Trump
spoke.

Gold had surged past $1,600 for the first time in nearly seven years in
earlier trade before discarding gains as fears of a larger conflict abated,
leading investors to move out of safe-haven assets as risk appetite
returned.

The safe-haven yen fell from three-month highs against the dollar and the
Swiss franc, another safe haven, also retreated. Brent oil futures slid off
a four-month peak hit in frenzied early trade soon after the Iranian attack.

Iran’s long-term goal of a sphere of influence might be jeopardized if it
attacks too aggressively, said John Vail, chief global strategist at Nikko
Asset Management in Tokyo.

“The impact on global risk assets will probably moderate from here as we are
likely past the worst part of the crisis,” Vail said in an e-mail. “Neither
side wants a war.”

U.S. stocks and MSCI’s broad gauge of stock performance in 49 countries
pared gains just before markets closed after news of two blasts, followed by
sirens, were heard in Baghdad late on Wednesday.

MSCI’s all-country world index gained 0.10%, while bourses in Paris,
Frankfurt and Milan rebounded.

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 161.41 points, or
0.56%, to 28,745.09. The S&P 500 gained 15.87 points, or 0.49%, to 3,253.05
and the Nasdaq Composite added 60.66 points, or 0.67%, to 9,129.24.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index earlier closed up 0.17% and emerging market
stocks lost 0.21%.

Spot gold fell 1% to $1,558.60 an ounce, having soared to $1,610.90 earlier
in the session, its highest since March 2013.

U.S. gold futures settled 0.9% lower at $1,560.20.

A report showing a surprise build in U.S. stockpiles helped crude prices to
fall.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said crude inventories rose
by 1.2 million barrels during the week ended Jan. 3. Analysts had expected a
decline.

Brent futures fell $2.83 to settle at $65.44 a barrel and U.S. WTI crude
settled down $3.09 at $59.61 a barrel. WTI futures earlier hit $65.65, the
highest since late April.

U.S. Treasury yields rose after yields on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note
overnight dropped to 1.705%, their lowest in more than a month, as worried
investors bought U.S. government debt in a safe-haven move after the Iranian
attack.

Benchmark 10-year notes last fell 11/32 in price to yield 1.8615%, nearly 20
basis points above the low it hit overnight following the Iranian strike.

In Germany, yields on the 10-year government bond rose to -0.247%, still far
below a seven-month high of -0.157% hit on Jan. 2, just before the killing
of the Iranian general.

A higher-than-expected U.S. private payrolls number for December also
boosted the dollar.

The ADP National Employment Report showed private payrolls jumped by 202,000
jobs after an upwardly revised gain of 124,000 in November. Economists
polled by Reuters had forecast private payrolls of 160,000 last month
following a previously reported 67,000 rise in November.

The dollar index, tracking the unit against six major peers, rose 0.3%, with
the euro down 0.37% to $1.111.

The Japanese yen weakened 0.61% versus the greenback at 109.09 per dollar.

Gold below $1,600 as markets await U.S. reaction to Iran attacks

(Reuters) - Gold surged past the $1,600 level for the first time in nearly
seven years earlier on Wednesday after Iran carried out retaliatory attacks
against U.S. forces in Iraq, but the metal pared gains as investors awaited
reaction from the White House.

Spot gold rose 0.4% to $1,579.33 per ounce at 1246 GMT, having earlier risen
as much as 2.4% to its highest since March 2013 to $1,610.90. U.S. gold
futures rose 0.4% to $1,580.70 per ounce.

Iranian state television said that at least 80 people were killed in attacks
involving 15 missiles Tehran launched on U.S. targets in Iraq on Wednesday
morning.

The move by Iran came hours after the funeral of Tehran’s top military
commander Qassem Soleimani, whose killing in a U.S. drone strike last week
intensified fears of a war in the Middle East.

U.S. President Trump said in a tweet late on Tuesday that “All is well!”,
and that he would make a statement on Wednesday morning.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif also tweeted that Iran was not
seeking escalation or war but would defend itself against any aggression,
leading to some pull-back in gold prices.

The metal, considered a safe investment in times of political and economic
uncertainties, was still supported as fears of a military lockdown in the
Middle East remained.

Gold was also supported by a dip in equities markets.

The metal’s 14-day relative strength index (RSI) was around 88. An RSI above
70 indicates a commodity is overbought.

Elsewhere, palladium rose 2.2% to $2,097.24 per ounce, after hitting another
all-time peak of $2,101 an ounce on a sustained supply deficit.

Silver was up 0.1% at $18.41 per ounce, after earlier hitting its highest
since early September at $18.85, while platinum was flat at $970.85 per
ounce.

INVESTORS DIARY 2020

Company

Event

Venue

Date & Time

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DISCLAIMER: This report has been prepared by Bulls ‘n Bears, a division of
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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
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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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