Ghost Wrap

With the August / September earnings season behind us, it's helpful to look at share price moves over the past 30 days on the JSE to see how sentiment has shifted.  The winner over this period is clear: PGMs. The winds of change aren't just blowing in that space, they are positively gusting! There have been other positive standout performances, like Caxton and CTP Publishers and Printers, as well as Purple Group. On the negative side, a couple of insurance names have had a tough month (like Discovery and Santam), while Sun International continues to struggle with casino demand. There's been plenty of volatility in the local market, but these moves were particularly interesting to me. The Ghost Wrap podcast is proudly brought to you by Forvis Mazars, a leading international audit, tax and advisory firm with a national footprint within South Africa. Visit the Forvis Mazars website for more information. Remember, nothing you hear on this podcast is investment advice, nor does it reflect the views of Forvis Mazars in South Africa. Always speak to your financial advisor.

At the halfway mark in 2025, we've lived through some huge geopolitical shifts. The world's gaze has shifted beyond just the US market. This opens up new opportunities of course, but finding those gems isn't easy. Many investors choose to stick with what they know in times like these. This means homegrown favourites on the JSE. But which stocks have been the big winners thus far this year, and what do they have in common? In this episode, I explain how the key themes of gold, platinum and telcos have proven to be the rising tide that lifts all boats in those industries. There have also been rewards for stock-pickers beyond those sectors, with the examples of Naspers/Prosus, OUTsurance and WeBuyCars all being interesting.  The Ghost Wrap podcast is proudly brought to you by Forvis Mazars, a leading international audit, tax and advisory firm with a national footprint within South Africa. Visit the Forvis Mazars website for more information. Remember, nothing you hear on this podcast is investment advice, nor does it reflect the views of Forvis Mazars in South Africa. Always speak to your financial advisor.

There may have been many public holidays in April, but that didn't stop the market from reacting to the broader geopolitical turmoil. With recession concerns as a key theme, which stocks did well and which ones delivered a nasty drop? This podcast is an overview of recent big share price moves among larger local companies on the JSE, revealing some interesting trends.  The Ghost Wrap podcast is proudly brought to you by Forvis Mazars, a leading international audit, tax and advisory firm with a national footprint within South Africa. Visit the Forvis Mazars website for more information.

Earnings season is drawing to a close and it feels like we've all earned a holiday. In considering how the first few months of the year have played out, some surprising winners have emerged. The performance in gold is simply a case of the sector carrying on where it left off in 2024, but what about platinum? And where did that telecoms rally come from? Also, have retail stocks continued their slide since the previous episode of Ghost Wrap that focused on that issue? This podcast gives you great context to the year-to-date performance on the JSE.  The Ghost Wrap podcast is proudly brought to you by Forvis Mazars, a leading international audit, tax and advisory firm with a national footprint within South Africa. Visit the Forvis Mazars website for more information.

Listen to the podcast to get insights into the retail sector from the first few weeks of trading in 2025. In clothing, it's quite clear that Pepkor and Mr Price had stronger numbers than The Foschini Group and certainly Truworths, yet the baby has been thrown out with the bathwater in that sector. Woolworths is a hybrid model and this is reflected in the performance, with the food business looking far stronger than the rest of the group. In grocery, Boxer has been the most defensive stock thus far in 2025 and had a solid festive season. Shoprite put in a predictably strong performance as well vs. peers. There are signs of life at Pick n Pay, but it remains well below Shoprite. Spar hasn't delivered a trading update yet, so the focus there is on cleaning house and getting out of broken investments (like Poland). We save the best for last: Lewis. The latest numbers are highly impressive and when you consider the discretionary nature of the business, the share price resilience in 2025 has been especially promising.  The Ghost Wrap podcast is proudly brought to you by Forvis Mazars, a leading international audit, tax and advisory firm with a national footprint within South Africa. Visit the Forvis Mazars website for more information.