South African Stocks Fall as Standard Bank Update Weighs on Lenders

(Bloomberg) -- South Africa’s main stock index halts a two-day rally, falls 0.4% by 9:54 a.m. in Johannesburg, as Sasol Ltd. joins diversified miners and gold producers in dragging the benchmark FTSE/JSE Africa All Share lower.

Standard Bank Group Ltd. falls 0.9%, weighing on the banking index, after the company gave an update on its performance in the first nine months of 2020, and said it sees annual cost growth outpacing gains in revenue. Read more here

• Standard Bank’s peers in the index for bank stocks retreat 0.8%, also pulled lower by the weaker rand
  • Nedbank Group Ltd. -1.6%, Investec Plc -1.1%, Absa Group Plc -1.1%, Absa -0.8%
  • NOTE: Golden Cross Offers Mixed Message for South Africa’s Rand: Chart
• BHP Group Plc drops 2.3% to lead the gauge of mining stocks lower, with index falling 2% to the lowest in more than a week.
  • Anglo American Plc -1.6%, Sibanye Stillwater Ltd. -2.2%, Gold Fields Ltd. -1.1%, AngloGold Ashanti Ltd. -0.9%, Harmony Gold Mining Co. -2.3%, Impala Platinum Holdings Ltd. -0.8%, Anglo American Platinum Ltd. -0.5%
• Sasol Ltd. falls as much as 4.5%, to the lowest since June 1, after OPEC+ warned of a precarious outlook for the oil market as a resurgent virus hits consumption.
• Index heavyweight Richemont up 1.5% to provide biggest boost to the index. Fellow market giant Naspers Ltd. gains 0.7%
• Tiger Brands Ltd. jumps as much as 6.3%, touching the higest since November, after being raised to overweight by Morgan Stanley.
• Foreigners remained net sellers of South African stocks for a fourth consecutive session Monday, disposing of 92 million rand worth of shares, according to exchange operator JSE Ltd.

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