The JSE fell for a second consecutive month (FTSE/JSE Capped All Share -3.7%), dragging it into negative territory at the midpoint of 2026 (-2.8% YTD). Precious metals miners were the biggest drag on the JSE in June, costing the index 4.5% of performance in the month. Gold fell 12% MoM, pushing it back towards US$4,000/oz, down c. 25% from its January high. The plunging gold price dragged the miners down with it (-15% MoM), while their precious metal peers, the platinum miners, fared even worse (-23% MoM), with the platinum price falling 19% MoM, having shed a quarter of its value YTD.
Investment conglomerates Naspers and Prosus were also a drag on JSE performance in June (down 4% MoM in aggregate). Stocks geared towards the domestic economy were the best-performing cohort (+3.4% MoM), leaving them 8% higher YTD at the halfway point. Even the beleaguered discretionary retailers experienced a bounce (6% MoM), including a 15% MoM jump in Mr Price. The retailer released full-year results with revenue up 4.3% YoY, which investors perceived as resilient in a challenging backdrop. Despite the strong June performance, the discretionary retailers ended 1H26 down c. 10%. Banks (+3% MoM) continued to underpin the performance of the domestically exposed stocks, ending 1H26 up 10.6%.
The impact of elevated oil prices filtered through to South Africa’s (SA’s) May inflation data, with headline inflation rising by 4.5% YoY, well above the SA Reserve Bank’s 3% target. Even core inflation (3.8% YoY), excluding energy prices, drifted higher. However, this is expected to moderate as the impact of lower oil prices in the wake of the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz filters through to the backwards-looking inflation data. Despite the higher inflation data, the government’s 10-year funding rate continued to drift lower, ending the month 0.2% down at 8.4% p.a.
The local currency struggled against a strong US dollar, finishing the month at R16.40/US$1 (-1% MoM), though it remains one of the few major currencies that got to the midpoint of 2026 stronger against the greenback (+1% YTD).
