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Market scorecard
US markets ended modestly lower yesterday, despite the fact that the top dog, Nvidia, was up 1.8%. Yesterday marked six months since the S&P 500 plunged to a tariff-inspired "Liberation Day" low. It has gained over 35% since April 8, one of its best six-month moves in history. Go figure.
We aren't commodity traders, but for the record, oil fell over 1% yesterday after Israel and Hamas agreed to the first phase of a peace deal, and gold and silver eased following their recent rallies.
In more interesting company news, Novo Nordisk will acquire Akero Therapeutics for up to $5.2 billion, expanding its pipeline into liver disease treatments linked to obesity. Elsewhere, PepsiCo rose by 4.2% after the snack and beverage giant beat earnings estimates and said Lay's chips would get a design upgrade. Finally, Ferrari skidded off the tracks, screeching 14.9% lower after disappointing earnings guidance.
In summary, the JSE All-share closed down 0.66%, the S&P 500 settled back by 0.28%, and the Nasdaq ended just 0.08% lower. An interesting session.
Our 10c worth
One thing, from Paul
In a recent book called Amusing Ourselves to Death, Neil Postman writes:
"What Orwell feared were those who would ban books. What Huxley feared was that there would be no reason to ban a book because there would be no one who wanted to read one."
Humans only really started reading in great numbers in the early 1700s when books became more affordable. That era was known as the Enlightenment, and was marked by a shift to reason, empirical evidence, the scientific method, individual liberty, religious tolerance, and human rights. Slowly, humans evolved towards constitutional government, the separation of church and state, and the application of rational principles to social progress.
Now, 300 years later, books are dying and reading is in free-fall. The publishing industry is in crisis. The reason, of course, is the smartphone. More and more people of all ages are watching hours and hours of inane AI-generated short-form videos, games, algorithmic content, and social media clickbait. As you know, the quality of political discourse has deteriorated badly.
This is not acceptable. So here's your advice for a Friday: don't slip into a post-literate mentality. Remain curious, read widely. Challenge yourself to think and act. Resist the slide into what James Marriott calls the "moronic inferno".
Byron's beats
When the market is running hot, it's easy to look like a genius. I am sure there are many retail investors out there who have done incredibly well for themselves over the last 2 years by buying all the exciting AI plays. Good for them!
Here at Vestact, we prefer quality companies that can stand the test of time. Many of them are doing incredibly well thanks to the current trends and we are happy to see them run. When the market turns, you can rest assured that the names in your portfolio are rock solid.
Sure, their share prices will drop if the market does crack, but the underlying businesses will have what it takes to easily recover.
When will things turn I hear you ask? No one knows the answer to that, the bull market could continue for years to come. We own quality so that we don't have to worry about such things.
Michael's musings
It's a Friday, so I'll keep things short. Paul shared the image below on our work WhatsApp group yesterday. It is a reminder that bull markets can run hard for a very long-time. The market could easily double from here before it has its next 30% correction.
As Byron highlights above, we are long term investors, so our focus is on accumulating quality companies and then letting the market run.
Bright's banter
CrowdStrike just printed fresh highs this year, up about 40% in 2025. It last reached an all-time closing peak of around $514 in July. The shares have since cooled down to around $503.
The company was founded in 2011 by George Kurtz and Dmitri Alperovitch. CrowdStrike built Falcon, a cloud-native security platform that uses AI to spot and stop breaches across millions of endpoints, exactly where ransomware crews earn their keep.
In independent tests, Falcon scored a 100% ransomware protection and endpoint detection and response (EDR) rating, which is why boards call them when the alarms start flashing.
Yes, there was the infamous blue-screen blow-up in 2024. They dealt with it incredibly well, which almost enhanced their reputation.
CrowdStrike feels like Visa for cyber protection - a scaled network with subscription economics, growing as digital commerce (and attackers alike) expand. In a world where hackers hunt for easy ransom, we want to own the firm that hardens the doors - and gets paid every year to keep them shut.
Linkfest, lap it up
Chimps are fascinating. Not only do we share 98% of our DNA with them, but a lot of habits too - Chimpanzees are very fond of boozy snacks.
South African internet access is expensive. It could be worse - Internet costs by country.
Signing off
Asian markets are red this morning, following the lead of US markets last night. TSMC reported a 30% jump in third-quarter sales, fuelled by surging AI chip demand from major US tech giants, pushing its share price up around 2% in Taipei trade today.
In local company news, The JSE named Valdene Reddy as its new CEO, succeeding Leila Fourie as local equities hit record highs. Reddy takes charge with the All-Share Index up over 30% this year, extending a powerful rally underpinned by booming commodity prices.
US equity futures are slightly lower pre-market. The Rand is trading at around R17.20 to the US Dollar.
Good luck to Bafana Bafana tonight in a must-win World Cup qualifier.
Have a super weekend.
