Johannesburg, Feb 22, 2026, 09:54 SAST — Market closed.
- The FTSE/JSE All Share ended Friday at 123,022, up 0.97%, while the Top 40 closed at 114,830, up 1.04%. (JSE)
- Investors are bracing for Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana’s 2026 Budget Speech on Wednesday, Feb. 25, due at 14:00. (Government of South Africa)
- Miners and retailers are in focus after Sibanye’s results and ahead of Spar’s trading update on Monday. (Reuters)
South Africa’s stock market heads into Monday with one item on the screen: the national budget on Wednesday, which can shift assumptions on taxes, spending and state support. The FTSE/JSE All Share and the Top 40 both rose on Friday, according to the JSE’s market data. (JSE)
Why it matters now is simple. The bourse has lived off global risk appetite and commodity swings for weeks, but this is a domestic catalyst that can hit banks, retailers and bond proxies in one afternoon. National Treasury said the budget will be tabled in Parliament on Feb. 25, with Parliament flagging the speech at Cape Town City Hall. (Government of South Africa)
Markets ended the week with the rand firmer and energy prices higher — an awkward mix for a country that imports much of its fuel. The rand traded at 16.08 per dollar on Friday, up 0.4%, after a hotter-than-expected U.S. inflation read, while Brent crude pushed to about $72 a barrel on Middle East jitters, Reuters reported. (Reuters)
Miners are doing their own heavy lifting. Sibanye Stillwater said it took a further 2.46 billion rand impairment on its Keliber lithium project in Finland, but CEO Richard Stewart told a results call the group’s “long-term strategy” still centres on metals that support “decarbonisation and an energy transition.” The company reported headline earnings per share — a South African profit measure — of 2.44 rand for 2025 versus 0.64 rand a year earlier, and restored a dividend, Reuters reported. (Reuters)
Gold headlines keep coming and they bleed into Johannesburg trading even when the listings are elsewhere. AngloGold Ashanti reported full-year headline earnings of $2.725 billion and declared a $1.73 per share quarterly dividend, taking total payouts for 2025 to $1.8 billion, Reuters reported. CEO Alberto Calderon called its Arthur Gold Project in Nevada “one of the largest and most significant greenfield gold discoveries of this century in the U.S.” (Reuters)
Retail is the other live wire. Spar said in a SENS notice — the exchange’s regulatory news service — that it will publish a trading update for the 18 weeks ended Jan. 30 on Monday, Feb. 23, and hold an investor call from 09:00 to 09:30 to discuss trading and “recent executive leadership changes.” (Sharenet)
The local data calendar is busy around the budget. A Trading Economics schedule shows a leading business cycle indicator due on Tuesday, producer prices (PPI) — a gauge of factory-gate inflation — on Thursday, and money supply, private-sector credit and trade data on Friday, along with regular debt auctions through the week. (Trading Economics)
Global rates are still the background noise that turns into a shout. A U.S. calendar for Feb. 23–27 includes consumer confidence on Tuesday and producer prices on Friday, alongside a run of Federal Reserve speakers. For South Africa, that matters because the rand often tracks shifts in dollar demand and U.S. rate expectations. (Kiplinger)
But the week can still break the other way. A budget that leans harder on taxes, or surprises on support for state-owned firms, could jar domestically exposed shares. Oil is another risk — a fresh spike can feed inflation expectations and chip away at the room for rate relief, even if the currency holds up.
