Sanlam Private Wealth Morning Digest Friday 20 April 2018

American Markets

Wall Street declined during the previous session, dragged down by a drop in technology, real estate and consumer staples shares. The NASDAQ led the region’s losses, with the index dropping 0.78% to settle at 7,238.06 index points. However, the NASDAQ’s losses were somewhat offset by a 1.9% increase in Amazon after its CEO, Jeff Bezos, advised shareholders that its Amazon Prime subscription program has topped 100mn members. The S&P 500 lost 0.57% as 9 of the 11 major S&P sectors declined. Lastly, the Dow Jones settled 0.34% lower at 24,664.89 index points, with the index once again moving into negative territory for the year.

Local Markets

Local markets ended in negative territory on Thursday, despite trading higher for most of the session, weighed down by a late sell-off in British American Tobacco. Overall, the JSE All Share shed 0.32% to settle at 57,526.8 index points, while the Top 40 index ended 0.58% lower. The industrial index was among the worst performers, with British American Tobacco dropping 6.85% after Philip Morris International slumped in US trade. The resource index also ended slightly lower, but this was offset by a 2.24% rally in the platinum mining index and a 1.16% increase in the gold mining index. Lastly, Pick n Pay and Clicks gained 8.9% and 2.48% respectively after releasing their results.