Positive virus drug trial news spurs stocks
Local stocks found significant traction in
the afternoon session as they tracked a similar surge in global markets.
The surge in stocks was on the back of
positive news from trials being conducted on a potential treatment for the
coronavirus.
With most economies looking to partially
reopen their economies, this brought a jump across most asset classes including
commodities.
Information released by Gilead Sciences
stated that the drug had shown to benefit patients who took the drug at an
early stage of the illness, while it was less effective for later stage
patients.
Before this news, local stocks had traded
mostly flat on the day.
The rand recorded one of its best days this
month as it strengthened against the greenback to peak at a session high of
R18.25/$. At 17:00, the rand was trading 1.97{e93887a69cdd95d753f466db084bbc3aa0067124675315461d28d68a72842cc2} firmer at R18.28/$.
On the JSE, financials led the charge as
gains were recorded for Standard Bank [JSE:SBK] which climbed 8.35{e93887a69cdd95d753f466db084bbc3aa0067124675315461d28d68a72842cc2} to close at
R101.08, Old Mutual [JSE:OMU] which rose 5.7{e93887a69cdd95d753f466db084bbc3aa0067124675315461d28d68a72842cc2} to close at R13.35, and Sanlam
[JSE:SLM] which added 4.3{e93887a69cdd95d753f466db084bbc3aa0067124675315461d28d68a72842cc2} to close at R59.88.
Sasol [JSE:SOL] closed as one of the day’s
biggest gainers after the stock surged 14.81{e93887a69cdd95d753f466db084bbc3aa0067124675315461d28d68a72842cc2} to close at R1.55, while Famous
Brands [JSE:FBR] added 11.56{e93887a69cdd95d753f466db084bbc3aa0067124675315461d28d68a72842cc2} to close at R41.99.
Some listed property stocks recorded decent
gains on the day which saw stocks such as Hyprop Investments [JSE:HYP] gain
14.56{e93887a69cdd95d753f466db084bbc3aa0067124675315461d28d68a72842cc2} to close at R17.00, while Redefine Properties [JSE:RDF] added 11.82{e93887a69cdd95d753f466db084bbc3aa0067124675315461d28d68a72842cc2} to
close at R2.27.
Significant gains were also recorded for
Sasol [JSE:SOL] which advanced 10.03{e93887a69cdd95d753f466db084bbc3aa0067124675315461d28d68a72842cc2} to close at R85.00, as well as Barloworld
[JSE:BAW] which closed at R67.79 after gaining 9.06{e93887a69cdd95d753f466db084bbc3aa0067124675315461d28d68a72842cc2}.
Curro Holdings [JSE:COH] struggled
considerably as it fell 7.5{e93887a69cdd95d753f466db084bbc3aa0067124675315461d28d68a72842cc2} to close at R9.99, while EPP NV found itself
amongst the day’s biggest losers after it tumbled 7.72{e93887a69cdd95d753f466db084bbc3aa0067124675315461d28d68a72842cc2} to close at R4.66.
Retailer, Pick n Pay [JSE:PIK] fell 2.88{e93887a69cdd95d753f466db084bbc3aa0067124675315461d28d68a72842cc2}
to close at R59.73, while its sector peer The Spar Group [JSE:SPP] lost 2.46{e93887a69cdd95d753f466db084bbc3aa0067124675315461d28d68a72842cc2}
to close at R181.69.
The JSE All-Share index eventually closed
1.66{e93887a69cdd95d753f466db084bbc3aa0067124675315461d28d68a72842cc2} higher while the blue-chip JSE Top-40 index gained 1.59{e93887a69cdd95d753f466db084bbc3aa0067124675315461d28d68a72842cc2}.
The Industrials index shed 0.17{e93887a69cdd95d753f466db084bbc3aa0067124675315461d28d68a72842cc2}, while the
Resources and Financials indices managed to gain 3.38{e93887a69cdd95d753f466db084bbc3aa0067124675315461d28d68a72842cc2} and 4.33{e93887a69cdd95d753f466db084bbc3aa0067124675315461d28d68a72842cc2} respectively.