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Cape Town - The JSE closed firmer on Friday after getting off to a rather slow start which saw it opening weaker.
The rand extended its losses against major currency pairs and particularly against the greenback as it slipped to trade above R12/$. The weakness was a result of the US dollar which strengthened significantly ahead of the release of US jobs data. The local currency slipped to a session low of R12.09/$ before disappointing US jobs data erased some of the US dollar gains. At 17:00 CAT the rand had retraced slightly from its lows to trade at R12.05/$.
Local equities rebounded from their initial slump to trade relatively flat for the better part of today’s session. Listed property stocks were among the biggest gainers of the day with stocks such as Greenbay Properties [JSE:GRP], Resilient [JSE:RES] and NEPI Rockcastle [JSE:NRP] recording gains of 14.68%, 9.94% and 9.34% respectively. Gold miners Harmony Gold [JSE:HAR] and Gold Fields [JSE:GFI] added 4.88% and 3.65% respectively, whilst Bidcorp [JSE:BID] and Grindrod [JSE:GND] gained 3.32% and 3.09% respectively.
EOH Holdings [JSE:EOH] continued on its recovery path as it added another 4.87%, whilst Rand hedges such as Richemont [JSE:CFR] and British American Tobacco [JSE:BTI] were buoyed by the weaker Rand as they ended the day up 1.16% and 2.67% respectively. Despite the weaker rand, Woolworths [JSE:WHL] managed to firm by 2.37% to close at R61.74 per share.
On the losers side Famous Brands [JSE:FBR] and Brait [JSE:BAT] came under pressure to end the day down 4.25% and 1.42% respectively. The weaker rand resulted in banking stocks such as First Rand [JSE:FSR] and Standard Bank [JSE:SBK] shedding 2.61% and 1.48% respectively, while retailers such as Shoprite [JSE:SHP] and Massmart [JSE:MSM] lost 1.74% and 1.77% respectively.
Naspers [JSE:NPN] eased by 1.67% to close at R2 987.00 per share, while Tsogo Sun Holdings [JSE:TSH] and Vodacom [JSE:VOD] lost 3.02% and 1.44% respectively. Miners Anglo American PLC [JSE:AGL] and Royal Bafokeng Platinum [JSE:RBP] eased by 0.61% and 0.58% respectively.
The JSE All-Share Index ended the day 0.21% firmer, while the Top-40 index managed to add 0.09%. The Industrials Index contracted by 0.16%. However, the Resources and Financials Indices managed to add 1.29% and 0.07% respectively.
Gold traded relatively mixed but it did gain some momentum on the back of the weaker US dollar to reach a session high of $1 335.51/Oz. At 17:00 CAT it had retraced slightly to trade at $1 332.18/Oz. Following their overnight slide, platinum and palladium traded relatively flat to be recorded at $910.92/Oz and $903.41/Oz respectively at 17:00 CAT.
Brent Crude traded softer for the better part of Friday's session, but it gained significant momentum towards the JSE close to briefly trade in the green. It peaked at a session high of $68.62/barrel, before it retraced to trade at $68.00/barrel at 17:00 CAT.
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