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Johannesburg - Resources firms such as Exxaro led South African stocks lower on Thursday as miners took a knock after weak data from China and disappointing earnings from the United States.
China reported its trade surplus narrowed in September for a second month in a row as growth in exports and imports both came in below forecasts, reflecting global economic weakness.
The start of US corporate earnings season, with JPMorgan Chase & Co reporting lower third-quarter net income, also weighed on market sentiment.
“This is just one of those days where there’s risk being taken off the table. We had our first disappointment from banks reporting,” said Nick Kunze, head of dealing at BJM Private Clients.
The Top 40 - (Tradeable) [JSE:J200] index of blue chips shed 1.1% to 27 540.79, and the broader All Share [JSE:J203] index fell 0.9% to 30 834.39.
Diversified miner Exxaro had the biggest drop among blue chips, falling 3.5% to R171.88.
European shares down
European shares ended lower, pulling back from the previous session’s nine-week closing high.
The FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares provisionally finished 1.3% lower at 964.58 points after falling to a low of 962.23 points earlier in the session.
“The gains in the past days have been so rapid that it almost produced a technically overbought position,” said Mike Lenhoff, chief strategist at Brewin Dolphin.
“It could just be seen as a relatively short-term bout of profit taking and hopefully will not result in a complete reversal of the rebound that we have seen.”
Banks featured among the top decliners, with the European sector index down 4.1% led by Italian lender UniCredit, down 12% on fresh concerns about its capital requirements.
The Dow and the S&P 500 fell on Thursday, but the Nasdaq composite index cut its losses to briefly turn positive in midday trading.
China reported its trade surplus narrowed in September for a second month in a row as growth in exports and imports both came in below forecasts, reflecting global economic weakness.
The start of US corporate earnings season, with JPMorgan Chase & Co reporting lower third-quarter net income, also weighed on market sentiment.
“This is just one of those days where there’s risk being taken off the table. We had our first disappointment from banks reporting,” said Nick Kunze, head of dealing at BJM Private Clients.
The Top 40 - (Tradeable) [JSE:J200] index of blue chips shed 1.1% to 27 540.79, and the broader All Share [JSE:J203] index fell 0.9% to 30 834.39.
Diversified miner Exxaro had the biggest drop among blue chips, falling 3.5% to R171.88.
European shares down
European shares ended lower, pulling back from the previous session’s nine-week closing high.
The FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares provisionally finished 1.3% lower at 964.58 points after falling to a low of 962.23 points earlier in the session.
“The gains in the past days have been so rapid that it almost produced a technically overbought position,” said Mike Lenhoff, chief strategist at Brewin Dolphin.
“It could just be seen as a relatively short-term bout of profit taking and hopefully will not result in a complete reversal of the rebound that we have seen.”
Banks featured among the top decliners, with the European sector index down 4.1% led by Italian lender UniCredit, down 12% on fresh concerns about its capital requirements.
The Dow and the S&P 500 fell on Thursday, but the Nasdaq composite index cut its losses to briefly turn positive in midday trading.
