JSE tracks global slump on North Korean missile jitters

Johannesburg - The JSE slipped on Friday in tandem with the broad-based weakness in global equity markets.

Global equity markets came under pressure after North Korea fired another missile over Japan. The JSE opened flat but it subsequently came under and sunk more into negative territory. Naspers [JSE:NPN] also weighed down on the blue chip index as it closed the day down 1.39%.

Retailers and financials came under pressure due to the weaker rand, with FirstRand [JSE:FSR] and Shoprite [JSE:SHP] among the top losers as they shed 2.15% and 1.00% respectively.

The rand reached lows of R13.22 against the greenback before rebounding to R13.14/$ when the JSE closed.

Impala Platinum [JSE:IMP] continued to trade under pressure on the back of the relatively weak results released on Thursday, as well as subdued platinum prices. The stock eventually closed down 6.98% at R35.79 per share.

AngloGold Ashanti [JSE:ANG] jumped on the back of the news of a potential disposal of its Kopanang mine. The company indicated in June this year that it was going to restructure its South African operations, with the aim of ensuring that the business returns to profitability while mitigating job losses. The stock eventually closed the day up 2.22%.

The JSE Top-40 index closed the day down 0.49%, while the JSE All-share index lost 0.37%. It was red across the major indices, with Industrials closing down 0.33%, Financials down 0.84% and Resources down 0.39%.

Gold failed to maintain its earlier momentum on the news out of North Korea, with the precious metal reaching intra-day lows of $1 319.88 per ounce, despite continued pressure on the US dollar. The dollar faced even more pressure after US retail sales data missed estimates.

The US Dollar Index slid to an intra-day low of 91.577 index points but this failed to propel gold. The precious metal was trading at $1 322.22/oz when the JSE closed.

Platinum and palladium also traded under pressure as they slipped to intra-day lows of $965.10 and $917.85 per ounce respectively. As a result JSE listed platinum producers traded under pressure, with Anglo American Platinum [JSE:AMS] shedding 1.54% and Northam Platinum [JSE:NHM] losing 0.13%. Platinum was trading at $967.90/oz and palladium at $924.57/oz just after the JSE closed.

The bullish sentiment surrounding Brent Crude continued due to forecasts of increased demand in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey and Irma. The commodity managed to peak to an intra-day high of $55.85 per barrel before it retraced slightly to trade at $55.70 per barrel just after the JSE closed.

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