Lonmin limits JSE gains as global stocks rally

SOUTH African shares rose on Friday, although gains were capped by a fall in platinum stocks after Citigroup cut its price target for dual-listed Lonmin, and UBS downgraded the stock to “sell”.

Lonmin plunged 11.32% to close at R15.90, with its primary Londonlisted shares down 12% to their lowest level since listing in 1982.

“It basically got hammered out of London — it has got a lot of negativity coming out about other platinum shares,” said Thebe Stockbroking’s head of trading, Bruno van Eck.

Platinum prices are trading around their lowest levels since 2009, only marginally above $1 000 an ounce.

Impala Platinum dipped 0.91% to R49, and Anglo American Platinum fell 1.23% to close at R250.

Anglo American edged down 0.14% to R166.01, while bigger rival BHP Billiton gained 1.47% to close on R236.75.

The All Share index gained 0.68% on the day to end the week at 51 800 points as global stock markets rallied on hopes that Greece would clinch a deal with international creditors and save itself from financial meltdown.

Financial stocks carried the JSE higher, with insurers Sanlam and Old Mutual both up more than 2%. Discovery gained 2.76% to R134.20.

The Top 40 index climbed 0.75% to 46 216, beating the wider bourse.

Global stock markets jumped, while the euro rose broadly on optimism that last-minute concessions by Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras would clinch a deal with international creditors.

US stocks were up about 1% in early trading, following gains in both European and Asian equities.

“Should Greece find a momentary fit to its budgetary problems and stay in the eurozone, it would peel away a thick layer of uncertainty for the euro,” said Joe Manimbo, a senior market analyst at Western Union Business Solutions in Washington.

The euro climbed to a one-week high against the yen of ¥137.27 and was last at ¥136.99, up 2.4%. The common European currency was on track for its largest one-day gain since April 2013. Against the dollar, the euro was up 1.2% at $1.1167.

MSCI’s all-country world equities index jumped 1.3%.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 0.97% to 17 719.62, the Standard & Poor’s 500 gained 0.99% to 2 071.68 and the Nasdaq Composite added 1.18% to 4 980.50. European shares were up 1.8%. Chinese stocks were also buoyed by a raft of support measures from Beijing that appeared to calm investors. Panic selling had slashed a third of the value off mainland markets since a peak last month.

US crude was down 50c to $52.28 a barrel and Brent crude was down 39c at $58.22. Spot gold was up 0.2% at $1 161.11 an ounce. —