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Johannesburg - The rand is on the recovery trail again, which put an end to the JSE’s strong run on Thursday morning.
The Financial index, which is supported by a stronger rand, was the only one of the major indices on the JSE that traded higher by mid-morning. The other major indices, most of which had been trading at highs, were slightly lower. The losses were however very modest.
Gold shares were also higher, as the gold price strengthened on the back of a weaker dollar.
The rand traded at R13.47 to the dollar, after trading as low as R13.86/$ on Monday, extending a rally to its best level in nearly two weeks against the dollar. The local unit was supported by improved sentiment over economic growth, helping to boost demand for the currency.
The dollar’s strong run was also brought to a halt by perceptions that President Donald Trump’s tax overhaul is running into trouble and less hawkish than expected.
A stronger rand means that dual-listed companies which earn most of their income abroad in foreign currencies will receive less in rand.
By mid-morning the All-share index was 0.13% lower at 57 696 points, while the Top 40 index traded 0.29% softer at 51 288 points. The big loser was the Industrial index, which lost 0.36%, and the Resources index, which shed 0.28%. The Financial index was 0.35% higher.
The top industrial shares were slightly lower. Naspers [JSE:NPN] lost 0.86% and British American Tobacco [JSE:BTI] traded 0.08% lower to R875.79. Richemont [JSE:CFR] dropped 1.15% to R123.65.
The two Mondi shares, which both lost more than 8% on Wednesday after a warning that full-year results might be below expectations, both stabilised. The dual-listed Mondi Plc [JSE:MNP] was 0.07% stronger at R346.01 and the locally listed Mondi Ltd [JSE:MND] lost 0.7% to R346.05.
Telkom [JSE:TKG] was one the busiest shares on the JSE but lost 0.76% to R56.00. The share is already 29.9% lower over the past 90 days.
Barclays Africa [JSE:BGA] was the most active share in the financial sector and traded 0.65% higher at R146.97. Standard Bank [JSE:SBK] gained only 0.14% to R166.40.
Sanlam's [JSE:SLM] run of the past seven days, when the share price gained more than 3%, continued and it lifted 1.28% to R69.88.
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