Johannesburg, March 1, 2026, 10:04 SAST — Market closed.
- JSE shares ended Friday higher, led by resource counters into month-end
- Absa’s manufacturing PMI and South Africa’s GDP figures headline the local diary
- Global PMIs and U.S. payrolls could swing the dollar and commodity-linked shares
Johannesburg shares head into a data-heavy week after the JSE’s Top-40 index rose 1.56% on Friday to 120,296, while the broader All Share ended up 1.48% at 128,456. Trading resumes on Monday after the weekend break. 1
Why it matters now: the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) is packed with miners, banks and offshore earners, so shifts in the dollar and commodity prices feed straight into index direction. With February books closed, fresh readings on growth and factory activity can move expectations for rates and earnings, quickly.
The rand slipped about 0.3% on Friday to 15.9650 per dollar as investors digested month-end data that included a bigger-than-expected January trade surplus and a budget deficit print. “Any shift in commodity prices, global risk appetite or domestic politics could test the sustainability of the recent strength,” said Wichard Cilliers, a currency strategist at TreasuryONE. 2
Resource shares did the heavy lifting into the close. Impala Platinum gained 5.1%, Anglo American Platinum rose 4.4% and AngloGold Ashanti added 3.6% on Friday, while Richemont fell about 3% and Naspers was little changed. 3
On Monday, traders get the Absa Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI), a monthly survey of factory managers that is watched as an early read on demand. A PMI reading above 50 points typically signals expansion; below 50 points suggests contraction. 4
The PMI last printed 48.7 in January, still below the 50 line, after rebounding sharply from December’s 40.5, according to data compiled by Trading Economics. 5
Later in the week, South Africa is due to publish fourth-quarter GDP figures on Wednesday. A softer number would put the spotlight back on domestic growth momentum and how much room policymakers have if inflation stays contained. 6
Outside South Africa, global PMI surveys and Friday’s U.S. jobs report are likely to set the tone for the dollar and commodities, and that often decides the direction for Johannesburg’s miners and other global earners. Chris Williamson, chief business economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence, wrote that “it’s possible that we could see uncertainty rise further” as tariff and geopolitical risks seep into business confidence. 7
On the company front, Impala Platinum plans to publish interim results on March 5 and hold a webcast and conference call hosted by CEO Nico Muller. The stock has been one of the more volatile large-caps this year, making the update a potential trigger for the wider mining complex. 8
Jubilee Metals Group, which has a Johannesburg listing, disclosed it issued shares to CEO Leon Coetzer and finance director Jonathan Morley-Kirk in a transaction linked to the sale of its South African chrome and platinum-group metals operations, and said the new shares are due to be admitted to trading around March 5. 9
But the setup cuts both ways. If U.S. data pushes rate-cut bets further out and lifts the dollar, or if gold and platinum prices pull back, foreign demand for South African assets can fade fast, leaving the rand and cyclical shares exposed.
For now, traders will watch Monday’s PMI for a read on domestic demand, then pivot to GDP midweek and the U.S. payrolls report on Friday for direction into the next session.
