INTERNATIONAL NEWS

US Stocks advanced by midday yesterday, snapping a seven-day decline in the Standard & Poor’s 500 index, after Thanksgiving retail sales climbed to a record and Euro zone leaders were said to boost efforts to end the debt crisis. The S&P 500 increased 3.1 percent to 1 194.20 points and the Dow Jones industrial average gained 2.6 percent to 11 526.99 points. Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase added more than 3.8 percent, tracking European banking shares. Alcoa climbed 5.3 percent as metal prices rose.

Gold climbed above $1 700 yesterday to its highest level in a week, helped by a strong Euro and gains in equity markets, on hopes Europe will unveil fresh measures to tackle the region’s growing debt crisis. In London, gold was fixed at $1 714 an ounce (R459 025 a kilogram) in the afternoon, gaining $25.50 from Friday’s second fix.

Oil jumped yesterday as concerns over possible disruption to Middle East oil supplies overshadowed worries over a worsening economic outlook for the Euro zone. Brent crude for January gained $2.38 to $108.78 a barrel (R5.70 a litre) in the afternoon, after earlier rising $3.09 to a high of $109.49.

European Stocks surged yesterday, rebounding from their biggest sell-off in two months; amid speculation Euro area policymakers are intensifying their efforts to contain the sovereign debt crisis. Banks rose after draft guidelines showed Europe’s rescue fund may insure as much as 30 percent of sovereign bonds. The benchmark Stoxx Europe 600 index added 3.7 percent to 229.7 points at the close, its biggest increase in two months, as all 19 industry groups advanced at least 2 percent.

Asian Stocks rose yesterday, sending the MSCI Asia Pacific index towards its biggest gain in three weeks after Black Friday sales in the US increased to a record, boosting the outlook for exporters, and as commodity prices advanced. Alumina, which produces the material used to make aluminium, rose 6.4 percent in Sydney, while Inpex, Japan’s biggest energy explorer, gained 3.8 percent. The MSCI Asia Pacific index gained 2.2 percent to 111.37 points as of 7.30pm in Tokyo.

SOUTH AFRICAN NEWS

South African Stocks gained the most in a month yesterday, tracking global equity markets on hopes that Euro zone leaders will come up with new measures to resolve the region’s debt crisis. The JSE Top40 index gained 2.5 percent to 28 472.34 points, the highest closing level since November 18 and the biggest percentage gain in a month. The broader all share index was up 2.3 percent to 31 829.34.

The Rand advanced the most in a month yesterday as record US Thanksgiving retail sales and speculation that European policymakers are taking steps to stem the debt crisis boosted commodity prices and riskier emerging assets. The Rand gained as much as 2.8 percent to R8.3122 against the Dollar and traded 2.7 percent firmer at R8.3122 as of 4.17pm, making it the second-best performer among more than 20 emerging market currencies tracked by Bloomberg.

Sasol advanced 3.2 percent to R377, its biggest daily percentage gain in nearly a month, after UBS raised the petrochemical maker’s price target to R470 from R450.

Mining house Assore was up 5.3 percent to R215 and retailer Shoprite climbed 5 percent to close at R130.74.

Vodacom also bucked the stronger tone on the bourse, declining 1.2 percent to R89.93 as the deadline passed for investors to receive its latest dividend payout.

Anglo American, the mining company that makes up more than 9 percent of the benchmark stock index, gained 2.6 percent to R300.50. Global stock markets rose for the first time in 11 days and some commodities and the Euro advanced as European leaders drafted a framework for the region’s bailout fund.

Impala Platinum Holdings gained the most in a week, rising 1.3 percent to close at R163.75.

BHP Billiton, the world’s largest mining group, climbed 3.4 percent to R239. The company named Graham Kerr as chief financial officer to succeed Alex Vanselow, who aims at taking up a chief executive role in the group.

South African media and e-commerce firm Naspers reported a 7 percent gain in first-half profit on Tuesday, hit by higher development costs as its spends more to bulk up its widespread operations. The Cape Town-based company said core headline earnings per share totalled 921 cents in the six months to end-September, compared with 860c a year earlier. The company considers core headline earnings, which exclude one-time items, to be the most accurate measure of its earnings. Naspers said this month it expected earnings to rise by 5 percent to 15 percent. Revenue totalled R18.5bn compared with R15.8bn a year earlier.

Pioneer Food Group reported a jump in full-year earnings on Monday helped by increased sales and said cost pressures and consumer spending will influence its performance ahead. The group, which produces bread, breakfast cereal and juices, said diluted headline earnings per ordinary share for the year to end-September totalled 398.3 cents from 131.2c last year. The company declared a final dividend of 40c per ordinary share. It had not declared a dividend the previous year. Pioneer Food shares have gained 8 percent so far this year, compared with a 3% fall in JSE’s All Share index.

Sourced from Business Day, Cape Times and Fin24.com