The JSE fell 2.2% on the last day of October, ruining what was shaping up to be a decent month and tipping the local bourse into a second consecutive monthly drawdown (-0.4% MoM). Precious metals miners were the main drag on performance for a second consecutive month, with gold miners (-10% MoM) and platinum (-16% MoM) shaving 3% off the JSE’s performance in October. The precious metal miners added 25% to the JSE performance in 2025 and started the year strongly but have now cost the JSE 5% of performance YTD as metal prices continue to struggle (gold -7% MoM/-10% YTD, platinum -16% MoM/-30% YTD). JSE stocks geared to the domestic economy fared considerably better (+5% MoM), with strong contributions from insurers (+8% MoM) and telcos (+11% MoM). Even the beleaguered retailers had a decent month (discretionary retailers +5% MoM, general retailers +6% MoM). It was a particularly strong month for the grocery laggards. Pick n Pay (+25% MoM) rallied after the release of 1H27 results, which showed evidence of progress in the Group’s turnaround strategy. SPAR (+20% MoM) also rallied, though without a meaningful catalyst, and the counter is still 47% down YTD despite its October rally. Santam (+20% MoM) was another standout performer as parent company Sanlam announced its intention to buy up the remaining shares it does not already own (Sanlam owned 63% of Santam prior to the announcement).
Investment conglomerates Naspers and Prosus continued to be a source of pain for the JSE (-3% MoM), with the pair now down 38% YTD, having cost the JSE 4.5% of performance this year.
Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana presented the Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS) in October, delivering a market-friendly fiscal outlook. The country’s latest inflation data came in below expectations, with core inflation (excluding the volatile food and energy categories) seeing price pressure ease to 4.0% YoY from the previous print of 4.1% YoY. The government’s 10-year borrowing rate softened slightly during the month, falling 0.2% to end the month at 8.8% p.a. The rand fell 1.7% MoM to leave it marginally weaker YTD (-0.9%) in a month that saw the US dollar rally against most emerging market (EM) currencies.
