JSE, global stocks hit by US data

Johannesburg - South Africa’s Top 40 - (Tradeable) [JSE:J200] blue-chip index dropped more than 2% after US nonfarm payroll figures ignited fears the world’s biggest economy could be headed for a recession.

“It took a big knock when those numbers came out,” said Ferdi Heyneke, a portfolio manager at Afrifocus Securities.

“This is still the concern that the United States is kind of heading for a recession. We will now have to wait and see.”

The Top-40 was down 1.92% in afternoon trade after touching a low of 2.04% moments earlier.

Wall Street stocks tumbled soon after the opening, with major indexes falling 2%. 

World stocks slumped and core government bonds rallied after closely the watched data showed employment growth ground to a halt in August.

The price of gold extended gains as investors sought refuge in safe haven assets. Spot gold rose to a session high of $1 873.10 an ounce, before easing back to $1 870.14.

Nonfarm payrolls were unchanged, the weakest reading since September. Nonfarm employment for June and July was revised to show 58 000 fewer jobs.

The MSCI’s world equity index lost 0.8% on the day while European stocks were down 2.3%. Emerging stocks were nearly 1% on the day. US crude oil was down 2.7% at $86.53 a barrel as concerns grew that a weaker economy would hit demand.

Bund futures jumped 113 ticks to hit a record high, drawing in safe-haven demand. The euro was steady at $1.4254, having hit a three-week low around $1.4207.
The dollar was slightly lower on the day against a basket of major currencies.