Trading update : 11 August 2025

Market developments in recent weeks highlight a significant divergence in key sectors. The AI sector continues its impressive growth, while broader US economic signals are flashing red. Wall Street strategists are also warning of a potential 15% stock market pullback. Meanwhile, in South Africa, new vehicle sales are revving up, signalling a buy opportunity for a key player.

AI power

Palantir Technologies Inc. (PLTR-NASQ) reported a 48% increase in revenue for Q2 to more than $1 billion, citing the “astonishing impact” of AI technology on its business. According to a Bloomberg report, the company raised its revenue outlook for the full year to $4.14-$4.15 billion, exceeding prior analyst expectations of $3.91 billion. CEO Alex Karp said that AI breakthroughs had helped fuel the company’s growth, and that the company planned to be the “dominant software company of the future”. Meanwhile, Microsoft Corp. (MSFT-MASQ) announced that it will spend more than $30 billion in the current quarter to build out the data centres powering its AI services.

Caution: Pullback ahead!

Wall Street strategists are cautioning investors to brace for a near-term stock market pullback of up to 15% as sky-high valuations run into souring economic data. However, the warning, carried by Bloomberg, comes with a big bullish caveat: buy any dips!

Artificial market manipulation

Findings from a recent study say AI bots can form price-fixing cartels without explicit instruction in simulations designed to mimic real-world markets. According to researcher Itay Goldstein, these fairly simple-minded AI algorithms can collude without being prompted, and the behaviour is “very pervasive”. The study’s findings suggest a need for new regulatory thinking that focuses on behavioural outcomes, rather than communication or intent, according to the researchers.

US bleeds jobs

According to a Bureau of Labor Statistics report, US job growth cooled sharply over the past three months. Payrolls increased by a paltry 73,000 in July after the prior two months were revised down by nearly 260,000, and the jobless rate ticked up to 4.2%. The data send a stronger signal that the labour market is more than merely moderating, with job growth cooling markedly and unemployment rising.

Storm clouds

Amazon (AMZN-NASQ) results showed a big relative underperformance in cloud growth, posting 17% year-on-year growth compared to 32% at Alphabet (GOOG-NASQ) and Microsoft (MSFT-NASQ) at 39%. The poor performance led to an 8.3% sell-off. 

Euro bulls

According to JPMorgan strategists, another buying opportunity for Eurozone stocks is coming in the next 1-2 months following recent underperformance. Bloomberg also highlighted a Goldman Sachs Group survey that suggests Europe is the biggest geographical focus for the second half of the year.

Fed shakeup

In a move that could influence US monetary policy, President Trump has a chance to fill an opening at the Federal Reserve after Fed Governor Adriana Kugler announced her resignation. Bloomberg reports that Kugler’s exit unfolds amid unprecedented public pressure from the White House on the central bank over monetary policy, with Trump regularly launching personal insults at current chair Jerome Powell on social media.

Prosus in Meituan exit

Prosus (PRX-JSE) has started selling down its more than $4 billion stake in Meituan after the company announced plans to expand into some Prosus territories. Prosus has sold about $250 million in Meituan shares in the last two weeks and may sell more, with plans to reinvest the proceeds to build out its other e-commerce brands.

EM flows reverse

The nine-week streak of inflows into emerging market ETFs ended as investors yanked cash out amid renewed concern over the impact of President Donald Trump’s tariff war. Outflows from US-listed emerging market ETFs that invest across developing nations as well as those that target specific countries totalled $1.11 billion in the week ended Aug. 1, compared with gains of $2.36 billion in the previous week, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Car sales rev

NAAMSA reported another month of seriously strong new vehicle sales in South Africa. Sales from Motus Holdings (MTH-JSE) up +15.6% for July, with Hyundai, Kia and Renault all looking very strong. The results are a good start to the new financial year at Motus, which should support stronger upcoming results for a ridiculously bashed-up stock. Consider this stock a buy for now!

Glencore production dips

Glencore PLC (GLENL-TRQX) reported mixed production for the first half of 2025. Bloomberg reported that the Switzerland-based commodity trading and mining company said its copper production fell 26% to 343,900 tonnes for the six months ended June 30, down from 462,600 tonnes the year prior, primarily due to lower head grades and recoveries associated with planned mining sequencing. The company is conducting a review to identify about $1 billion of cost-saving opportunities.

Stock focus: AECI Ltd

AECI Ltd (AFE-JSE) has resumed the interim dividend after delivering a “solid” financial performance, which was driven by improved international operations. According to Bloomberg, the Sandton-based chemicals firm lifted pretax profit from continuing operations to R526 million for the six months ended June 30, up 15% from R458 million a year earlier, after slashing finance expenses. Revenue from continuing operations was R15.69 billion, down 2.3% from R16.06 billion, after selling some assets.