Johannesburg - South Africa's blue-chip Top-40 index fell as much as 3% in early
trade on Monday as the resignation of a top European Central Bank official
casts a pall on the region’s ability to tackle its worsening sovereign debt
crisis.
The JSE Top 40 - (Tradeable) [JSE:J200] was down 2.82% at 26 353.96 while the broader JSE All Share [JSE:J203] index was 2.5% weaker at 29 668.95.
MTN Group [JSE:MTN], which trades without the rights to its next dividend payout, is the biggest percentage loser on the blue-chip index, dropping 4.57%to R137.35.
Sasol [JSE:SOL] shares were down 2.79% at R314.97 despite the company posting a 27% rise in full-year earnings.
German policymaker Juergen Stark's resignation from the ECB's board underscored the internal divisions over its bond-buying programme - one of the central bank's main weapons in fighting the debt crisis by forcing down yields of country’s under pressure from the bond markets.