The lowdown: As at the 30th of November, the Satrix Top 40 ETF closed at R70.20. That’s an increase of 9.5% over the past month (R64.12), and a 2.1% increase from 30th November 2022 (R68.77) 🙌

The analysis: Looking at it month-on-month, November was an impressive month for the Top 40 companies. The majority of companies (32 out of 40) were in the green this month,  paving the way for a name change for the shopaholics' favourite month: from black November to green November.

So how did the Satrix Top 40 ETF do?

Let’s look at the performance of the top- and bottom-performing Satrix Top 40 companies’ shares to understand the increase over this past month:

Top-Performing Satrix Top 40 ETF Companies

The biggest winner this past month was Amplats, with an increase of 28%. This performance is quite impressive given the poor year that the platinum group metal (PGM) sector has experienced, as the price of platinum and palladium dropped roughly 10% and 40%, respectively. To give you an idea of how hard they’ve been hit, despite it being the best performer in November, Amplats is still the third worst performer over the year (-53.6%). However the medium- to long-term outlook is still positive, with cost-cutting measures recently adopted, which has resulted in a good November for the PGM producer.

Another mining stock that rallied back last month was Kumba Iron Ore, whose share price increased 20%. This is due to the continued positive long-term outlook for the mining company on the back of the generous dividends payout earlier this year.

Other big winners included Naspers and Prosus (who is majority-owned by Naspers), with increases of 19% over this past month. This sharp increase was due to its positive financial results in which its consolidated revenue closed in on the R60 billion mark. What’s more, Naspers will pay out R1.6 billion in dividends for its past financial year, after the unwinding of a complex structure between the group and Prosus.

Bottom-Performing Satrix Top 40 ETF Companies

Whilst one PGM company was the top performer, another is the bottom performer: Sibanye Stillwater share price decreased 13% this past month. As previously mentioned, tumbling platinum and palladium prices have halted performance and output of the PGM producer.

Another company who experienced a decline in November was Sasol (-11%). This is as a result of their chairman of the board resigning, citing potential conflicts of interest as the cause. This is a difficult time for the energy giant as they are battling to balance short-term profits and long-term sustainability.

Another company in the red (let’s face it: they always are, but this time it's due to their decreasing share price) is Vodacom. The telecommunications company share price decreased 4% compared to last month as a result of the news that it will be paying a dividend that’s 10% lower than last year. It’s safe to say that shareholders were left red-faced about that.

2024 – Is that you I see in the distance?

Going into December, the Satrix Top 40 ETF is gaining momentum and hoping to end the year with a bang! However it is important to remember that investing in the equity market is a long-term practice and month- to-month fluctuations can be expected. With 2024 just around the corner, we’re all left asking ourselves the same question: where has 2023 gone?