Share

JSE drifts downward on junk rate jitters

Johannesburg - Share prices on the JSE continued to drift slightly lower on Friday as investors are increasingly worried about the prospects of another credit downgrade for South Africa.

Although the rand steadied on Friday at R13.13 to the dollar, close to the weakest level in three weeks, share prices once again did not benefit much from the softer currency. Companies which own most of their income abroad earn more in rand if the currency is weak.

Analysts said news that South Africa’s current account deficit increased in the second quarter this year, despite bigger trade surpluses, is an ominous indication that the country might battle to finance the deficit if its credit rating is downgraded to junk status.

The mood on the market was further soured by softer international markets after North Korea fired another missile over Japan on Friday, demonstrating Pyongyang’s defiance against intensifying United Nations sanctions. US and European stock futures and Asian shares dipped slightly.

The losses on the JSE were however mostly modest, indicating that investors have a wait-and-see attitude and are not on the run yet. At mid-morning the All-share index was only 0.02% lower at 55 825 points, while the Top 40 lost 0.05% to 41 695 points.

The best performer was again the Gold index, which benefited from the uncertainty created by North Korea’s defiance. The gold price was 0.27% higher at $1 327.98 per fine ounce and the index gained 1.51%.

The dual-listed shares in the Industrial index followed their European co-listings lower, and the index was the biggest loser at mid-morning, having shed 0.22%. The Financial index recovered from early losses and gained 0.05%.

The resources sector gained 0.34%. Most of the sector's attention was again on platinum producer Impala Platinum [JSE:IMP]. The miner lost 3.97% on Friday, after much bigger losses on Thursday which wiped more than R2bn from the group’s value. Shareholders jumped ship after the group announced an impairment of more than R10bn related to an empowerment transaction with Royal Bafokeng Platinum.

The share prices of top commodity conglomerates hardly moved. BHP [JSE:BIL] was 0.16% lower at R239.19, but Anglo American [JSE:AGL] gained 0.08% to R231.08 and Glencore [JSE:GLN] was 0.13% stronger at R61.83.

Sibanye [JSE:SGL], with gold and platinum interests, was one of the busiest shares on Friday with more than 2.5 million shares traded for more than R45m. The stock gained 0.89% to R18.49.

Naspers [JSE:NPN], by far the biggest share on the JSE, traded 1.22% lower at R2 928.96 but is still more than 3% higher for the past week. Tencent, the Chinese internet giant of which Naspers owns 34%, again traded at an all-time high after the stock gained 0.53% in Hong Kong to a new record of $338.80.

Steinhoff [JSE:SNH], which will list its African businesses on the JSE as a separate company next week, priced the new unit’s shares at R20.50 which will value them at about R71bn. Steinhoff traded 0.32% softer at R62.80.

Aspen [JSE:API], which jumped almost 10% on Thursday on the news of a 48% increase in earnings, gained 1.44% to R314.40. The company also announced it will expand its anaesthetic drugs portfolio with a $766m deal with AstraZeneca, as part of its strategy to focus on drugs that can be injected rather than making tablets.

The deal with AstraZeneca covers the intellectual property and manufacturing rights to a portfolio of anaesthetics a year after Aspen bought the commercial rights in all parts of the world, excluding the United States.

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
18.94
-0.2%
Rand - Pound
23.91
-0.1%
Rand - Euro
20.43
+0.2%
Rand - Aus dollar
12.34
+0.1%
Rand - Yen
0.13
-0.2%
Platinum
910.50
+1.5%
Palladium
1,011.50
+1.0%
Gold
2,221.35
+1.2%
Silver
24.87
+0.9%
Brent-ruolie
86.09
-0.2%
Top 40
68,346
+1.0%
All Share
74,536
+0.8%
Resource 10
57,251
+2.8%
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