Financial News 27th January 2025

Market overview
The FTSE/JSE All Share closed last week at 84 291, decreasing by 0.45%. The Telecommunication and Basic Materials sectors were the biggest contributors gaining 6.86% and 1.72% during the week. The Financials and Consumer Discretionary sector were the biggest detractors losing 3.00% and 2.03% over the same period.
Looking at the MSCI indices, developed markets increased by 2.72% during the previous week, while emerging markets increased by 1.26% over the same period.

SA Inflation edges higher
South Africa’s inflation rate increased marginally to 3% in December 2024, up from 2.9% in November but below the 3.2% forecast. This remains significantly below the South African Reserve Bank’s preferred midpoint target of 4.5%. Core inflation, which excludes volatile categories like food, non- alcoholic beverages, fuel, and energy, eased to 3.6% in December 2024, marking its lowest level since February 2022, compared to 3.7% in November. On a monthly basis, consumer prices edged up by 0.1%, following a flat reading in November.

Retail sales soar
South Africa’s retail sales advanced by 7.7% over a year in November 2024, following a downwardly revised 6.2% rise in the previous month and surpassing market forecasts of a 5.5% increase. This marked the 9th consecutive month of growth in retail activity and the strongest since July 2022, mainly driven by sales at general dealers.

Thanks to PPS Investments for the Market Overview.

Financial Indicators by Sharedata.co.za

South African rand weakens ahead of data-filled week
South Africa’s rand slipped on Monday, ahead of a week packed with domestic and international data releases, with eyes set on interest rate decisions from the Federal Reserve and the South African Reserve Bank (SARB). Read the Reuters article on MSN here>

Bad news about interest rates in South Africa
Bank of America analysts are pricing in only one interest rate cut for South Africa in 2025, with a 25 basis points reduction coming in January and no more for the rest of the year. Read the Daily Investor article here>

SA financial markets: US inflation drop and Trump’s demands shape trading week
Most global and South African financial markets continued to recover for the second consecutive week after the lower-than-expected US core inflation rate (3.2%) was released the previous Wednesday. Read the full IOL Business article here>

Oil slips as Trump calls for Opec to cut prices
 Oil prices slipped on Monday after US President Trump called on Opec to reduce prices following the announcement of wide-ranging measures to boost US oil and gas output in his first week in office. Read the full BusinessDay article here>

The markets: Central bank rate decisions, tech earnings, and key economic data
Stock markets posted consecutive gains last week following Donald Trump’s inauguration. This week, attention shifts to critical interest rate decisions from the Federal Reserve (Fed), the European Central Bank (ECB), and the Bank of Canada (BOC). Read the full Euronews.com article here>

Need more information? Chat with us