Johannesburg - The JSE closed a tad softer on Wednesday‚ in line with weaker worldwide
equity markets and due to investors booking gains from recent
rallies.
The all-share index ended down 0.06% at
35 543.93 points‚ with gains in industrial stocks offering some
support‚ while banks led the declines‚ with the index shedding
1.14%‚ and one of its biggest components‚ Nedbank‚ slipping
1.77% to R182.31.
“The US has seen better than expected
economic data and now doubts are increasing whether markets will see
any further quantitative easing (QE3)‚” said Reuben Beelders‚
portfolio manager at Gryphon Asset Management in Cape Town.
“The US retail sales print yesterday
was better than expected and we saw a broad improvement in all
categories of sales‚” he added.
The local market seemed to have ignored
Wednesdays’ better than expected South African retail trade sales
data‚ with growth in retail trade sales rising by 8.3% year on year
in June after a revised 7.1% growth in May.
Meanwhile US stocks opened mostly lower
on Wednesday after the first August reading on the US manufacturing
sector showed an unexpected contraction‚ Dow Jones Newswires
reported.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average
slipped 0.10%‚ to 13 158.86 points.
The moves came after the New York
Federal Reserve’s Empire State business conditions index for August
fell unexpectedly into negative territory for the first time since
last October.
The US the consumer price index for
July came in unchanged from the previous month‚ compared to
expectations for a 0.2% increase.
European markets also slipped‚ with
the UK’s FTSE 100 index last seen down 0.47%.
Minutes showed Bank of England policy
makers were unanimous in holding interest rates and the
asset-purchase programme steady earlier this month‚ dampening hopes
for further stimulus measures in the near term. The UK’s
unemployment rate fell to 8% in the second quarter from 8.1% in the
three-month period ending in May.
Local big movers were Anglo American
Limited [JSE:AGL] down R4.73‚ or 1.84%‚ to R251.82‚ and BHP
Billiton [JSE:BIL] dipping R2.70‚ or 1.07%‚ to R250.46.
Banks that shed value were FirstRand
Limited [JSE:FSR] down 45 cents‚ or 1.57%‚ to R28.15 and RMB
Holdings Limited [JSE:RMH] dipping 58 cents‚ or 1.51%‚ to R37.79.
JSE Limited [JSE:JSE] closed down
R1.93‚ or 2.54%‚ at R74.00 after the company on Wednesday posted
a 15% drop in its headline earnings per share to 245.5 cents in the
six months to June‚ compared with the same period a year ago.
First Uranium [JSE:FUU] closed 15
cents‚ or 9.68%‚ lower at R1.40. The miner reported on Wednesday
that consolidated pre-tax profit for the three months ended June‚
the first quarter of the company’s 2013 financial year‚ came in
at $30.7m. This was an improvement compared to the consolidated
pre-tax loss of $39.8m over the same period last year.
Tile company‚ Italtile [JSE:ITE]‚
closed 40 cents‚ or 6.15%‚ weaker at R6.10. The company reported
on Wednesday an 18% rise in diluted headline earnings per share for
the year ended June to 40.8 cents from the 34.5 cents recorded in the
corresponding period last year.