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The rand steadied against the dollar, trading at R11.85 against the greenback at the close of the market.
The All Share index edged 0.12% lower while the blue-chip Top 40 eased by 0.02%, dragged lower by financials and resources.
Woolworths gained 4.64% to trade at R67.25, recovering slightly after the retail group conceded to the disappointing performance of Australian acquisition, David Jones, by writing down R7bn of its value.
The write-down indicated to the market that Woolworths admits that it overpaid for the Australian retailer.
Naspers [JSE:NPN] firmed 0.47% pulled along by its Chinese investment, Tencent, which gained 2.88% in Hong Kong.
The Hang Seng closed 1.53% higher on strengthening banking stocks.
Data released on Friday indicated that the US economy grew at an annual rate of 2.6% in the final quarter of 2017, finishing off the year on a firm footing.
Combined with a sinking jobless rate, a surging stock market and a sunny outlook, the American economy’s performance has also been buoyed by simultaneous growth in nations around the world, which has fuelled trade and enabled foreign consumers to buy more American-made products.
The dollar index firmed on Friday morning following comments from President Donald Trump. "The dollar is going to get stronger and stronger, and ultimately, I want to see a strong dollar," he said at the WEF.
The greenback had slipped to three-year lows earlier in the week after Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said a "weaker dollar is good for trade".
The dollar’s rebound sent commodities prices down on Thursday afternoon. Oil, which had hit fresh three-year highs, traded down by 0.10% to $70.35.
