South Africa hospitality stocks sink

South Africa is the worst-hit on the African country in terms of recorded cases and deaths.
Phillepus Uusiku
South African hospitality, grocery retail and gym stocks sank alongside the rand currency after the government tightened Covid-19 restrictions to cope with new coronavirus infections.

The travel and leisure index tumbled 7.53% to a one-month low and recorded its biggest daily decline in just over a year, with City Lodge, Tsogo Sun Gaming, Tsogo Sun Hotels and Sun International down between 6.70% and 9.83%.

"Sentiment is very low on these businesses. People get fearful when news flow is bad as it is at the moment," said Varshan Maharaj, Portfolio Manager at Allan Gray.

Investment firm Brait SE, which holds just under 80% of Virgin Active gyms, fell 6.10%, while wines, spirits and cider producer Distell slipped 0.69%.

Grocery retailers who sell alcohol Massmart, Woolworths, Shoprite, Pick N Pay and Spar Group fell between 0.80% and 5.26%. The Johannesburg All-Share index fell 0.61%, while the Top-40 index dropped 0.53%.

President Cyril Ramaphosa announced tighter Covid-19 restrictions on Sunday for 14 days saying the current containment measures were insufficient with the country, the worst-hit on the African continent in terms of recorded cases and deaths, in the grip of a third wave of infections.

Under the measures announced, all gatherings are prohibited, there will be a curfew from 9 p.m. to 4 A.M., gyms, cinemas, casinos and entertainment facilities must close and the sale of alcohol will be banned.

In the currency market, the rand weakened 0.55% to 14.2050 against the dollar by 1505 GMT.

"This scenario, although necessary, is likely to hamper an already faltering economy, and the rand is likely to remain under pressure, with any strength in the local unit likely to be met with fresh demand for USD," analysts at Nedbank wrote in a note.

Government bonds strengthened slightly, with the yield on the instrument due in 2030 falling 3 basis points to 8.960%. - Nampa/Reuters

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Namibian Sun 2024-09-20

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LaLiga: Leganés 0 vs 2 Athletic Club | Real Betis 2 vs 1 Getafe | Mallorca 1 vs 0 Real Sociedad Katima Mulilo: 25° | 39° Rundu: 20° | 39° Eenhana: 17° | 36° Oshakati: 15° | 34° Ruacana: 16° | 35° Tsumeb: 19° | 34° Otjiwarongo: 13° | 32° Omaruru: 14° | 32° Windhoek: 11° | 28° Gobabis: 9° | 30° Henties Bay: 11° | 18° Wind speed: 22km/h, Wind direction: W, Low tide: 06:23, High tide: 12:53, Low Tide: 19:02, High tide: 01:16 Swakopmund: 12° | 14° Wind speed: 22km/h, Wind direction: NW, Low tide: 06:21, High tide: 12:51, Low Tide: 19:00, High tide: 01:14 Walvis Bay: 11° | 17° Wind speed: 23km/h, Wind direction: N, Low tide: 06:21, High tide: 12:50, Low Tide: 19:00, High tide: 01:13 Rehoboth: 7° | 29° Mariental: 7° | 26° Keetmanshoop: 6° | 24° Aranos: 6° | 27° Lüderitz: 14° | 27° Ariamsvlei: 6° | 23° Oranjemund: 15° | 30° Luanda: 22° | 24° Gaborone: 11° | 17° Lubumbashi: 18° | 36° Mbabane: 8° | 9° Maseru: 3° | 13° Antananarivo: 11° | 28° Lilongwe: 21° | 31° Maputo: 14° | 15° Windhoek: 11° | 28° Cape Town: 10° | 21° Durban: 13° | 14° Johannesburg: 7° | 9° Dar es Salaam: 23° | 29° Lusaka: 21° | 34° Harare: 17° | 30° Currency: GBP to NAD 23.2 | EUR to NAD 19.52 | CNY to NAD 2.48 | USD to NAD 17.5 | DZD to NAD 0.13 | AOA to NAD 0.02 | BWP to NAD 1.28 | EGP to NAD 0.35 | KES to NAD 0.14 | NGN to NAD 0.01 | ZMW to NAD 0.65 | ZWL to NAD 0.04 | BRL to NAD 3.19 | RUB to NAD 0.19 | INR to NAD 0.21 | USD to DZD 132.02 | USD to AOA 927.77 | USD to BWP 13.17 | USD to EGP 48.48 | USD to KES 128.48 | USD to NGN 1593.37 | USD to ZAR 17.51 | USD to ZMW 26.45 | USD to ZWL 321 | Stock Exchange: JSE All Share Index Same 0 | Namibian Stock Exchange (NSX) Overall Index 1838.95 Up +1.41% | Casablanca Stock Exchange (CSE) MASI 14184.33 Up +0.68% | Egyptian Exchange (EGX) 30 Index 30937.69 Up +1.96% | Botswana Stock Exchange (BSE) DCI 9651.25 Same 0 | NSX: MTC 7.75 SAME | Anirep 8.99 SAME | Capricorn Investment group 17.34 SAME | FirstRand Namibia Ltd 49 DOWN 0.50% | Letshego Holdings (Namibia) Ltd 4.1 UP 2.50% | Namibia Asset Management Ltd 0.7 SAME | Namibia Breweries Ltd 31.49 UP 0.03% | Nictus Holdings - Nam 2.22 SAME | Oryx Properties Ltd 12.1 UP 1.70% | Paratus Namibia Holdings 11.99 SAME | SBN Holdings 8.45 SAME | Trustco Group Holdings Ltd 0.48 SAME | B2Gold Corporation 47.34 DOWN 1.50% | Local Index closed 677.62 UP 0.12% | Overall Index closed 1534.6 DOWN 0.05% | Osino Resources Corp 19.47 DOWN 2.41% | Commodities: Gold US$ 2 608.44/OZ UP +0.82% | Copper US$ 4.31/lb DOWN -0.0032 | Zinc US$ 2 895.80/T DOWN -1.4% | Brent Crude Oil US$ 74.22/BBP DOWN -0.0089 | Platinum US$ 976.80/OZ DOWN -0.006 Sport results: LaLiga: Leganés 0 vs 2 Athletic Club | Real Betis 2 vs 1 Getafe | Mallorca 1 vs 0 Real Sociedad Weather: Katima Mulilo: 25° | 39° Rundu: 20° | 39° Eenhana: 17° | 36° Oshakati: 15° | 34° Ruacana: 16° | 35° Tsumeb: 19° | 34° Otjiwarongo: 13° | 32° Omaruru: 14° | 32° Windhoek: 11° | 28° Gobabis: 9° | 30° Henties Bay: 11° | 18° Wind speed: 22km/h, Wind direction: W, Low tide: 06:23, High tide: 12:53, Low Tide: 19:02, High tide: 01:16 Swakopmund: 12° | 14° Wind speed: 22km/h, Wind direction: NW, Low tide: 06:21, High tide: 12:51, Low Tide: 19:00, High tide: 01:14 Walvis Bay: 11° | 17° Wind speed: 23km/h, Wind direction: N, Low tide: 06:21, High tide: 12:50, Low Tide: 19:00, High tide: 01:13 Rehoboth: 7° | 29° Mariental: 7° | 26° Keetmanshoop: 6° | 24° Aranos: 6° | 27° Lüderitz: 14° | 27° Ariamsvlei: 6° | 23° Oranjemund: 15° | 30° Luanda: 22° | 24° Gaborone: 11° | 17° Lubumbashi: 18° | 36° Mbabane: 8° | 9° Maseru: 3° | 13° Antananarivo: 11° | 28° Lilongwe: 21° | 31° Maputo: 14° | 15° Windhoek: 11° | 28° Cape Town: 10° | 21° Durban: 13° | 14° Johannesburg: 7° | 9° Dar es Salaam: 23° | 29° Lusaka: 21° | 34° Harare: 17° | 30° Economic Indicators: Currency: GBP to NAD 23.2 | EUR to NAD 19.52 | CNY to NAD 2.48 | USD to NAD 17.5 | DZD to NAD 0.13 | AOA to NAD 0.02 | BWP to NAD 1.28 | EGP to NAD 0.35 | KES to NAD 0.14 | NGN to NAD 0.01 | ZMW to NAD 0.65 | ZWL to NAD 0.04 | BRL to NAD 3.19 | RUB to NAD 0.19 | INR to NAD 0.21 | USD to DZD 132.02 | USD to AOA 927.77 | USD to BWP 13.17 | USD to EGP 48.48 | USD to KES 128.48 | USD to NGN 1593.37 | USD to ZAR 17.51 | USD to ZMW 26.45 | USD to ZWL 321 | Stock Exchange: JSE All Share Index Same 0 | Namibian Stock Exchange (NSX) Overall Index 1838.95 Up +1.41% | Casablanca Stock Exchange (CSE) MASI 14184.33 Up +0.68% | Egyptian Exchange (EGX) 30 Index 30937.69 Up +1.96% | Botswana Stock Exchange (BSE) DCI 9651.25 Same 0 | NSX: MTC 7.75 SAME | Anirep 8.99 SAME | Capricorn Investment group 17.34 SAME | FirstRand Namibia Ltd 49 DOWN 0.50% | Letshego Holdings (Namibia) Ltd 4.1 UP 2.50% | Namibia Asset Management Ltd 0.7 SAME | Namibia Breweries Ltd 31.49 UP 0.03% | Nictus Holdings - Nam 2.22 SAME | Oryx Properties Ltd 12.1 UP 1.70% | Paratus Namibia Holdings 11.99 SAME | SBN Holdings 8.45 SAME | Trustco Group Holdings Ltd 0.48 SAME | B2Gold Corporation 47.34 DOWN 1.50% | Local Index closed 677.62 UP 0.12% | Overall Index closed 1534.6 DOWN 0.05% | Osino Resources Corp 19.47 DOWN 2.41% | Commodities: Gold US$ 2 608.44/OZ UP +0.82% | Copper US$ 4.31/lb DOWN -0.0032 | Zinc US$ 2 895.80/T DOWN -1.4% | Brent Crude Oil US$ 74.22/BBP DOWN -0.0089 | Platinum US$ 976.80/OZ DOWN -0.006