Johannesburg - The JSE closed weaker on Friday in line with global markets‚ due disappointment after Spain did not ask for a second bailout‚ as the market had expected‚ at the EU summit on Friday.
European leaders did however agree to have a new supervisor for eurozone banks up and running next year‚ which may eventually lead to the eurozone’s bailout fund being able to pump money directly into banks.
At 17:00‚ the JSE All Share [JSE:J203] index closed down 0.73% at 36 783.12 points‚ with gold miners shedding 1.72%‚ due to continued mining woes. The platinum index was the only one in positive territory‚ up 0.57%.
“A bit of negativity crept back into our market today‚ as we came off from an all-time high on Wednesday‚ with it being a muted close to the trading session with commodities and equities lower across the board‚” a local trader said.
European markets were also trading weaker with the FTSE 100 0.18% softer at 5pm local time‚ while the Dow Jones industrial index had shed 0.78% at the same time‚ due to disappointing earnings from blue-chip companies and European weakness weighing on American shares. Microsoft‚ General Electric and McDonald’s were all lower after results missed expectations‚ Dow Jones Newswires reported.
Gold miner Gold Fields dipped 1.52% to R102‚ despite reporting on Friday that all workers had returned to their jobs at most of its mines‚ after the company issued an ultimatum to workers to return to work or face dismissal.
Gold Fields said all workers at the Beatrix one and two shafts in the Free State and at KDC West in Carletonville were back at work; at KDC East workers were still striking. AngloGold Ashanti shed 2.3% to close at R281.37.
In platinum counters Lonmin shed 3.18% to R69.33 and Northam Platinum dropped 0.96% to R30.80.
MTN gave up 2.78% to R153‚ while Telkom gained 1.91% to R18.67.
Among banks and financials African Bank was off 3.03% to R29.48 and Capitec shed 2.33% to R200. Liberty Holdings was off 3.78% to R99.01.