South African Stocks Drop as Protests Weigh on Banks, Retailers

South Africa Stocks Edge Higher as Government Seeks to End Riots

Adelaide Changole

14 Jul 2021, 09:32 AM IST

(Bloomberg) -- South African stocks erased gains as deadly protests and looting that erupted following former President Jacob Zuma’s jailing showed no signs of letting up, even as the army was deployed to help the police keep it in check.

The FTSE/JSE Africa All Share Index was 0.4% lower by 4:02 p.m. in Johannesburg, as the rand weakened for a second day against the dollar to be the worst-performing emerging-market currency. Locally focused stocks like banks and retailers tracked the rand lower, countering gains from heavyweights Naspers Ltd. and Richemont.

Rioters Undeterred by Army Wreak Havoc in South African Cities

Deadly Protests Cast Pall Over South Africa’s Economic Recovery

Virus, Riots, Unemployment and Inflation Are Bad Mix: Macro View

Bank stocks dropped for a second consecutive session, sliding 4.8% in the biggest decline in 2021 as the rand declined 1.4% against the dollar.

NOTE: S. Africa Bank Stocks Slump Most in 2021 as Unrest Hits Rand
FirstRand Ltd. -6.7%, Standard Bank Group Ltd. -5%, Capitec Bank Holdings Ltd. -2.3%, Absa Group Ltd. -5.5%, Nedbank Group Ltd. -5.2%

Food and drug retailers dropped 2.7%, while general retailers fell 4.7%.

Shoprite Holdings Ltd. -3.6%, Clicks Group Ltd. -1.5%, Bid Corp Ltd. -2.8%, Spar Group Ltd. -3.4%, Pick n Pay Stores Ltd. -2.2%, Dis-Chem Pharmacies Ltd. -2%
Mr Price Group Ltd. -6.2%, Foschini Group Ltd. -4%, Woolworths Holdings Ltd. -3.6%, Truworths International Ltd. -5.2%, Massmart Holdings Ltd. -5.5%, Pepkor Holdings Ltd. -6.6%

Mall operator Growthpoint Properties Ltd. fell as much as 5.5%, the most since Dec. 21.

Naspers, with a 14% weighting in the main Johannesburg index, gained 0.4% to provide a boost to the overall market, after Chinese government approval of a deal for partly owned Tencent Holdings Ltd. eased concerns about stricter regulation.

NOTE: Chinese Tech Stocks Jump After Tencent Gets Deal Approval
Naspers holds a 29% stake in Tencent through its subsidiary Prosus NV. Tencent soared 3.9%, the biggest jump since May 25, while Prosus was up 2.3%

Richemont gained 0.9%, contributing the most index points to the benchmark index, with the luxury retailer buoyed by positive read-across from Swatch Group AG’s update.

NOTE: Swatch Jumps as 1H Ebit Beat Impresses, Lifting Richemont

Precious metals miners erased earlier losses, rising as gold producers joined the rally in platinum miners.

Impala Platinum Holdings Ltd. +4.3%, Northam Platinum Ltd. -4.3%, Anglo American Platinum Ltd. +2.4%, AngloGold Ashanti Ltd. -1.2%, Gold Fields Ltd. +0.6%, Sibanye Stillwater Ltd. +0.6%, Harmony Gold Mining Co. +3.2%

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