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The JSE traded mostly flat on Tuesday as it struggled for direction following a mixed trading session in Asia.
Other market segments seemed to have warded off the concerns surrounding the ban on Huawei by Google, as they tracked marginally higher.
In Europe the trend was mostly firmer while in Asia the Shanghai Composite Index gained 1.35% and in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng dropped 0.47%. The Japanese Nikkei eked out gains of 0.14%. The US's major indices all managed to open firmer as information suggests that investors are now seeking fresh clues in upcoming data releases such as the Fed's policy meeting minutes expected on Wednesday.
On the currency market the rand had a volatile session as it fell to a session low of R14.48/$, after having managed to peak at a session high of R14.35/$ earlier. This weakness was on the back of the firmer US dollar which rose as US Treasury yields retreated. At 17.00 CAT, the rand was trading 0.03% weaker at R14.39/$.
On the local bourse, Rebosis Property Fund [JSE:REB] came under significant pressure as it fell 11.29% to close at R1.10. Financials struggled on the day due to the weaker rand.
Nedbank [JSE:NED] lost 3.26% to close at R256.35, ABSA Group [JSE:ABG] closed 2.87% lower at R164.20, and Standard Bank [JSE:SBK] dropped 2.17% to close at R192.95.
Retailers came under the same fate which saw Truworths [JSE:TRU] fall 3.39% to close at R68.48, and Massmart Holdings [JSE:MSM] lost 1.93% to close at R76.69. Netcare [JSE:NTC] came under considerable pressure eventually closing 5.71% weaker at R18.82.
Resilient REIT [JSE:RES] was one of the day's top gainers after it closed 5.11% higher at R59.60. Other listed property stocks also advanced on the day as gains were recorded for Accelerate Property Fund [JSE:APF] which gained 4.36% to close at R3.59, while Fortress REIT [JSE:FFB] climbed 3.52% to close at R10.30.
Rand hedge Bid Corporation [JSE:BID] added 2.6% to close at R290.42, while Richemont [JSE:CFR] firmed by 1.44% to close at R105.67. Telecoms provider, MTN Group [JSE:MTN] rose 2.19% to close at R102.19, while its sector peer Vodacom [JSE:VOD] closed at R119.50 after gaining 2.11%.
The JSE lost some momentum towards the close which saw the All-share Index drop 0.3% while the blue-chip JSE Top-40 Index also lost 0.3%. The Resources index barely eked out gains of 0.02%, while the industrials index closed 0.02% weaker. The financials index lost 1.41%.
At 17:00 CAT, Platinum was up 0.02% to trade at $815.40/Oz, Palladium was 0.39% weaker at $1 330.05/Oz, and gold had lost 0.31% to trade at $1 273.84/Oz.
Brent crude traded mostly flat to firmer on the day. The commodity was trading at 0.08% firmer at $72.02/barrel just after the JSE close.
