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Johannesburg - The local bourse faced significant pressure on Tuesday as local equities reacted to the global equity rout experienced when the JSE was closed for the public holiday.
The JSE opened lower and continued to trade in the red as the majority of the blue chip stocks were trading under pressure. Media heavyweight Naspers [JSE:NPN] was one of the biggest losers in the JSE Top-40 index as it lost 3.19% to close at R2867.59 per share. Other notable moves lower were from Mediclinic [JSE:MDC] and Telkom [JSE:TKG] which lost 4.28% and 7.00% respectively.
The weaker rand weighed heavily on financials and retailers which saw stocks such as Standard Bank [JSE:SBK] and Woolworths [JSE:WHL] dropping 3.03% and 1.90% respectively. Rand weakness was mainly driven by US dollar strength and as result the USD/ZAR slipped to an intra-day low of R13.40/$, before it was recorded at R13.37 just after the JSE close.
The currency weakness has failed to propel rand hedge stocks such as Richemont [JSE:CFR] and Mondi plc [JSE:MNP] which shed 0.03% and 0.81% respectively.
Earlier momentum in the gold price saw AngloGold Ashanti [JSE:ANG] and Gold Fields [JSE:GFI] gaining 1.82% and 0.75% respectively. Platinum miners were mixed on the back of weaker platinum prices which saw Anglo American Platinum [JSE:AMS] gaining 1.83%, and Impala Platinum [JSE:IMP] losing 0.59%.
The JSE All-share index eventually closed down 1.38%, while the Top-40 index was down by 1.50%. All the major indices closed in the red, with Industrials losing 1.56%, Resources shedding 1.00% and Financials dipping 1.66% on the back of the weaker rand.
Gold opened firmer but it subsequently lost significant ground as it broke below $1 300 per ounce to reach an intra-day low of $1 298.88/oz. The US dollar continued to record gains as indicated by the US Dollar Index which peaked to an intra-day high of 93.115 index points. Gold bounced marginally to trade at $1 300.67/oz just after the JSE closed.
Brent Crude eased in today’s session after a ballistic day yesterday. The commodity broke below $58 per barrel to reach an intra-day low of $57.77 per barrel. This supported Sasol [JSE:SOL] which managed to peak to an intra-day high of R380.54 per share before it retraced to close at R374.12 per share, down 0.10% for the day. Brent Crude was recorded at $58.55 per ounce just after the JSE closed.
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