Consumer stocks put bulls in driver’s seat

SOUTH African stocks rose more than 1% on Friday, showing their best weekly performance in six weeks as Shoprite and other companies sensitive to consumer spending advanced a day after the central bank kept interest rates steady.

“It looks like the bulls are firmly in the driver’s seat. The mining stocks, despite the strikes, are showing signs of life,” said Ryan Woods, a trader at Independent Securities.

“We are due for some sort of pullback. The question is when?”

The Top 40 index ended up 1.2% at 43 167.60, just shy of its record high of 43 434.57. The index recorded its best weekly performance since the mid-February.

The broader All Share index advanced 1.2%, to 47 930.03.

Shoprite, Africa’s largest retailer, rose 2.8% to R158.50. Fellow retailer Woolworths Holdings added nearly 1% to R73.46.

Global equity markets rose on signs that China will step in to support a cooling economy and on promising US data.

Brent crude rose above $108 a barrel on US data and concern that Western sanctions on Russia’s energy sector could disrupt global supplies.

A dip in sentiment this month offered confirmation that US economic growth slowed in the first quarter. But US consumer spending rose 0.3% last month, matching economists’ expectations, the US Commerce Department said.

Equity markets were lifted by Prime Minister Li Keqiang saying that China would push ahead with infrastructure investment to shore up growth.

MSCI’s all-country world index rose 0.8%, and the FTSE Eurofirst 300 index of regional European shareswas up 0.74% at 1 332.0 points for its fourth day running of gains.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 0.87% to 16 406.48.

The S&P 500 gained 0.92% to 1 865.98, and the Nasdaq Composite added 1.19% to 4 200.635.

Spot gold fell to its lowest since February 12 at $1 285.36/oz before regaining some strength to trade up 0.3% at $1 294.91. Platinum was up 0.7% at $1 399.24/oz, while palladium gained 2.2% to $769.41/oz.

Silver gained 0.8% to $19.80/oz. —