As we head into December, the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) enters a season typically associated with festive optimism, yet this year’s market tone remains mixed. While hopes for a classic Santa Claus rally are being supported by growing expectations that global central banks have reached the end of their tightening cycles, trading conditions remain far from straightforward.
Thin holiday liquidity, combined with institutional year-end portfolio rebalancing, often results in volatile and uneven price movements. International sentiment is leaning cautiously optimistic, but South Africa’s ongoing structural challenges, from logistical bottlenecks to muted economic growth, continue to weigh on corporate performances and investor confidence. As the year draws to a close, the market’s attention will remain firmly on late-breaking corporate actions and operational updates that could set the tone for the early months of 2026. With that in mind, there are still some companies that offer opportunities to grow your portfolio in 2025:
Exxaro continues to manage declining export coal prices and the drag from Transnet’s rail issues, although management has recently noted gradual improvements in rail performance.
The real shift in the investment story is its strategic push into renewable energy, now accelerated with the acquisition of controlling stakes in the Gouda Wind Farm and Sishen Solar Facility through its Cennergi platform. This marks a decisive move toward clean-power growth at a time when thermal coal faces long-term structural challenges. Strong domestic coal supply contracts and a healthy balance sheet supporting dependable dividends add to the appeal. With diversification gaining momentum, the share holds an upside potential of around 7.26%, targeting the R191 price region in December.
Telkom enters December under the spotlight as markets closely watch its strategic value-unlocking review. While the legacy fixed-line business remains under pressure, mobile and fibre continue to strengthen, with Openserve standing out as one of the company’s most prized assets.
The completion of competitor transactions in the sector, most notably Vodacom’s tie-up with Maziv, has provided fresh valuation benchmarks that reinforce expectations of a material corporate development at Telkom. In this case, the upside is tied less to current earnings and more to anticipated portfolio restructuring that could unlock underlying asset value. If market sentiment strengthens around a potential fibre deal, the share could climb approximately 9.6% toward R56 this month.
MTN continues to show the benefits of its pan-African tech ecosystem strategy, with its latest quarterly results revealing 22.6% service revenue growth, driven by positive performances in data and fintech. User behaviour is shifting rapidly, data traffic climbed 27%, while the volume of mobile money transactions also rose, highlighting MTN’s evolution beyond pure telecoms.
Progress toward separating and partly listing or partnering its fintech business, particularly with key steps already taken in regions like Ghana, sets up a meaningful value unlock ahead of its planned strategic deal by May 2026. Despite external pressures, including currency volatility in Nigeria, MTN’s scale, execution, and forward strategy present a durable growth narrative. The share has ~10% upside potential to R173.90 throughout December.
December traditionally brings the possibility of a festive rally, but caution is warranted, as volatility often spikes alongside lower liquidity. Opportunities still exist for those monitoring asset-specific catalysts, especially in companies demonstrating strategic delivery, cash-flow resilience, or value unlock potential.
Disclaimer:
*Any opinions, views, analysis, or other information provided in this article is provided by BROKSTOCK SA trading as BROKSTOCK as general market commentary and should not be viewed as advice according to the FAIS Act of 2002. BROKSTOCK SA does not warrant the correctness, accuracy, timeliness, reliability, or completeness of any information provided by third parties. You must rely upon your judgement in all aspects of your investment decisions, and all decisions are made at your own risk. BROKSTOCK SA and any of its employees shall not be responsible for and will not accept any liability for any direct or indirect loss, including, without limitation, any loss of profit which may arise directly or indirectly from the use of the market commentary. The content contained within the article is subject to change at any time without notice. BROKSTOCK SA is an authorised financial services provider - FSP No. 51404. T&Cs and Disclaimers are applicable: https://brokstock.co.za/
** This article was prepared by BROKSTOCK analyst Maboko Seabi
© 2025 BROKSTOCK SA (PTY) LTD.
BROKSTOCK SA (PTY) LTD is an authorised Financial Service Provider and is regulated by the South African Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSP No.51404). BROKSTOCK SA (PTY) LTD Proprietary Limited trading as BROKSTOCK. BROKSTOCK SA (PTY) LTD t/a BROKSTOCK acts solely as an intermediary in terms of the FAIS Act, rendering only an intermediary service (i.e., no market making is conducted by BROKSTOCK SA (PTY) LTD t/a BROKSTOCK) in relation to derivative products (CFDs) offered by the liquidity providers. Therefore, BROKSTOCK SA (PTY) LTD t/a BROKSTOCK does not act as the principal or the counterparty to any of its transactions.
The materials on this website (the “Site”) are intended for informational purposes only. Use of and access to the Site and the information, materials, services, and other content available on or through the Site (“Content”) are subject to the laws of South Africa.
Risk notice Margin trading in financial instruments carries a high level of risk, and may not be suitable for all users. It is essential to understand that investing in financial instruments requires extensive knowledge and significant experience in the investment field, as well as an understanding of the nature and complexity of financial instruments, and the ability to determine the volume of investment and assess the associated risks. BROKSTOCK SA (PTY) LTD pays attention to the fact that quotes, charts and conversion rates, prices, analytic indicators and other data presented on this website may not correspond to quotes on trading platforms and are not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The delay of the data in relation to real-time is equal to 15 minutes but is not limited. This indicates that prices may differ from actual prices in the relevant market, and are not suitable for trading purposes. Before deciding to trade the products offered by BROKSTOCK SA (PTY) LTD, a user should carefully consider his objectives, financial position, needs and level of experience. The Content is for informational purposes only and it should not construe any such information or other material as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice. BROKSTOCK SA (PTY) LTD will not accept any liability for loss or damage as a result of reliance on the information contained within this Site including data, quotes, conversion rates, etc.
Third party content BROKSTOCK SA (PTY) LTD may provide materials produced by third parties or links to other websites. Such materials and websites are provided by third parties and are not under BROKSTOCK SA (PTY) LTD's direct control. In exchange for using the Site, the user agrees not to hold BROKSTOCK SA (PTY) LTD, its affiliates or any third party service provider liable for any possible claim for damages arising from any decision user makes based on information or other Content made available to the user through the Site.
Limitation of liability The user’s exclusive remedy for dissatisfaction with the Site and Content is to discontinue using the Site and Content. BROKSTOCK SA (PTY) LTD is not liable for any direct, indirect, incidental, consequential, special or punitive damages. Working with BROKSTOCK SA (PTY) LTD you are trading share CFDs. When trading CFDs on shares you do not own the underlying asset. Share CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. A high percentage of retail traders accounts lose money when trading CFDs with their provider. All rights reserved. Any use of Site materials without permission is prohibited.
