The JSE traded mostly softer on Wednesday as the selling pressure from other global markets crept onto the local bourse.

Equity indexes in Asia traded softer as geopolitical tensions escalated between Pakistan and India following news of two Indian jets that were downed by Pakistan. The major Asian bourse fared better than most would have thought, as the Hang Seng only closed 0.05% weaker while the Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.17%. Weakness was recorded across most of Europe’s equity indexes which tracked lower on the day.

On the JSE, all eyes were on the listing of Multichoice [JSE:MCG] which was unbundled from Naspers [JSE:NPN]. The share opened at R95.50, briefly traded at a session low of R93.08 before it rallied to peak at a session high of R115.60. The stock moderated to eventually close the day at R106.01 as over 35 million shares exchanged hands on the day.

Grindrod [JSE:GND] recorded decent gains on the day as the stock added 4.46% to close at R8.19, while Motus Holdings [JSE:MTH] managed to add 5.35% to close at R89.83. Harmony Gold [JSE:HAR] found some momentum which saw the stock advance 3.3% to close at R29.70, while platinum miner, Impala Platinum [JSE:IMP] gained 4.07% to close at R55.00. Commodity trading giant, Glencore [JSE:GLN] firmed by 2.71% to close at R57.21, and diversified miner, BHP Group [JSE:BHP] closed at R334.20 after adding 1.24%.

The slide in Tongaat Hulett [JSE:TON] continued as it fell 7.31% to end the day at R26.23. Despite releasing a relatively decent set of full-year results, NEPI Rockcastle [JSE:NRP] traded under significant pressure eventually closing the day 5.04% weaker at R120.50. Capital and Counties’ [JSE:CCO] full-year results indicated a decrease in NAV and total property value which resulted in the stock trading softer to eventually close 0.98% lower at R46.52. Barloworld [JSE:BAW] weakened by 2.48% to close at R131.12, while cement maker, PPC Ltd [JSE:PPC] lost 0.58% to close at R5.14. The weaker rand saw Nedbank [JSE:NED] drop 1.67% to close at R285.15, while Standard Bank [JSE:SBK] closed at R193.90 after losing 1.34%.

The JSE Top-40 index eventually closed 0.07% softer while the JSE All-Share index inched up 0.03. The Resources index managed to post gains of 1.34%, however the Industrials and Financials indices lost 0.34% and 0.88% respectively.

The rand traded mostly softer on the day as the greenback advanced on the back of tensions in between Pakistan and India. At 17.00 CAT, the rand was trading 0.6% weaker at R13.91/$.

Brent crude advanced to peak at a session high of $66.38/barrel before it was recorded trading 0.87% firmer at $65.78/barrel just after the JSE close.

At 17.00 CAT, Gold was 0.44% weaker at $1323.15/Oz, Palladium was own 1.19% at $1545.69/Oz, and Platinum was 0.91% weaker at $869.30/Oz.