Share

JSE ends in the red amid Zuma's surprise reshuffle

Cape Town – The local markets traded lower amid thin trade on Tuesday, easing off the recent rally on the JSE.  All the major indices closed in the red, coinciding with the surprise Cabinet reshuffle by President Jacob Zuma. 

The All-share index fell 0.48%. while the blue-chip Top 40 slipped 0.39%. The markets were dragged lower by the Gold index, which fell 1.78% on the back of lower gold prices. The markets also took a knock from Financials falling 0.74%, Resources 0.48% and Industrials 0.38%.

The market response has been marginally relative to previous Cabinet reshuffles involving former finance minister Pravin Gordhan. The changes to Cabinet, the second time in 2017, represent heightened political concern with the rand weakening to R13.41 to the greenback. The dollar has also been supported by a rise in US treasury yields, as the market anticipates higher interest rates going forward.

Discovery [JSE:DSY] climbed 0.28% to R143.80, following the announcement that the company had been granted a banking licence.  Discovery already has a large subscriber base for its branded credit card.  

Naspers [JSE:NPN] gained 0.42% to R3 252.51 despite its large Chinese investment, Tencent, falling 0.22% in Hong Kong. 

Global equity markets were largely negative, with European markets closing in the red, and US markets trading lower at the close of the JSE; with the UK FTSE down 0.14%, Germany’s DAX 0.07%, and the French CAC edging 0.03% lower.

South African supermarket operator Pick n Pay [JSE:PIK] reported a drop in half-year earnings after cutting jobs as part of an intensifying price battle with rivals in a stalling economy. On the JSE, shares in the company gained 0.40% and closed at R60.10 following the release of results which saw HEPS fall to 61.88 cents for the six months to end-August from 82.43c a year earlier. 

Excluding severance costs, earnings rose by around 13%, marking a ninth consecutive period of profit and sales growth, the company said in a statement.  Pick n Pay has changed its sales model to focus on pushing ‘in-house’ private label products, increasing the share of the “no-name” higher-margin products to 19% of sales, from 5%.

In the US,  Netflix [NASDAQ:NFLX] jumped to a new all-time high in AH trading, climbing 2.2% to $207.21 per share, after posting Q3 results. The video streaming service added 5.3 million net subscribers this past quarter and outlined a new content budget of between $7bn to $8bn for next year.

Gold prices slipped 0.73% to $1 284/oz marking a poor start to the week as global risk appetite is positive despite heightened geopolitical tensions in Iraq.

SUBSCRIBE FOR FREE UPDATE: Get Fin24's top morning business news and opinions in your inbox.

Read Fin24's top stories trending on Twitter:

We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Rand - Dollar
18.96
-0.3%
Rand - Pound
23.95
-0.2%
Rand - Euro
20.47
-0.0%
Rand - Aus dollar
12.36
-0.1%
Rand - Yen
0.13
-0.3%
Platinum
911.00
+1.6%
Palladium
1,012.02
+1.0%
Gold
2,213.44
+0.9%
Silver
24.79
+0.6%
Brent-ruolie
86.09
-0.2%
Top 40
68,346
+1.0%
All Share
74,536
+0.9%
Resource 10
57,251
+2.9%
Industrial 25
103,936
+0.6%
Financial 15
16,502
-0.1%
All JSE data delayed by at least 15 minutes Iress logo
Company Snapshot
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE
Government tenders

Find public sector tender opportunities in South Africa here.

Government tenders
This portal provides access to information on all tenders made by all public sector organisations in all spheres of government.
Browse tenders