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May 25 2012 13:58
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May 25 2012 11:36
The JSE has identified and stopped "incorrect" trades from one of its members, and will reverse the trades and lower the session's total value after the close.
Johannesburg - Local stocks have slipped for a second session as weak retail sales data hit shopping chain stocks and industrial conglomerate Bidvest slumped after forecasting lower profit.
The JSE Top-40 index of blue-chip stocks shed 0.22% to 22 231.02 points, bouncing off session lows after Wall Street opened stronger. The all-share index dipped 0.38% to 24 588.45 points.
"It's been a mixed day - we've come back a bit thanks to Wall Street, but the retailers took a hit from those sales figures and overall there is still some uncertainty after the recent strong rally," said a Johannesburg-based trader.
Government bonds rallied and yields inversely fell after data in the last two days showing contractions in the manufacturing and retail sectors raised the small possibility that the central bank might surprise the market with a rate cut.
Data on Wednesday showed South African retail sales fell by 6.7% year-on-year in June, showing demand reamins depressed by a recession that has led to job losses.
Twenty-three of 26 economists polled by Reuters last week predicted the key repo rate would stay on hold at 7.5 percent as inflation remains a concern for the central bank.
"We saw quite a few clients buying bonds, maybe anticipating that with the bad retail numbers there might just be an outside chance for a rate cut," a bond trader said.
The yield on the 2015 bond fell 13 basis points to 8.405%, while that for the longer-dated 2036 bond was down by the same margin at 8.44%.
The JSE general retailers' index weakened 1.24%. Clothing retailers Foschini, Mr. Price and Truworths dropped 2.48%, 1.76% and 2.35% respectively, while supermarket group Pick 'n Pay shed 1.8%.
Other consumer stocks also suffered, with media company Naspers down 2.29%.
Industrial conglomerate Bidvest skidded 2.74% to R104.42 after it said it expected full-year headline EPS to fall 12% to 14% partly due to one-off costs from the restructuring of its motor retail and food units.
Refined sugar maker Tongaat-Hulett plunged 15.26% to R85 after Anglo American said it plans to sell off its shares in the company.
Heavily-weighted mining shares were mixed, with Anglo Platinum up 4.62% and BHP Billiton climbing 1.45% while Kumba Iron Ore slid 3.29%.
- Reuters