The all-share index opened softer as sentiment from the weaker close in Asian equities filtered through. The Shanghai Composite Index dropped 0.86%, the Hang Seng shed 0.61%, while the Nikkei also lost 0.86%. European equities traded softer as leaders of the bloc signed off on a 540-billion-euro plan to mitigate the impact of the coronavirus. US equities struggled for direction as they swung mildly between gains and losses.
The rand managed to peak at a session high of R18.84/$ before it retreated to be recorded trading 0.61% firmer at $18.97/$.
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On the local bourse, Clicks [JSE:CLS] came under considerable pressure as it tumbled 12.07% to close at R229.02, while its sector peer Dis-Chem Pharmacies [JSE:DCP] dropped 4.42% to close at R21.42. More weakness was recorded for retailers in today’s session as declines were recorded for The Foschini Group [JSE:TFG] which lost 7.13% to close at R69.15, Massmart [JSE:MSM] which lost 2.57% to close at R26.50, and Woolworths [JSE:WHL] which closed at R27.77 after dropping 2.22%. Vukile Property Fund [JSE:VKE] slipped 8.62% to close at R5.30, while RDI REIT [JSE:RDI] lost 7.9% to close at R12.00. Significant declines were also recorded for Absa Group [JSE:ABG] which fell 2.29% to close at R79.22, Richemont [JSE:CFR] which lost 2.55% to close at R101.87, and Kumba Iron Ore [JSE:KIO] which closed at R346.85 after falling 3%.
Curro Holdings [JSE:COH] was one of the day’s biggest gainers after it surged 11.57% to close at R10.99. Gold miners remained buoyant as gains were recorded for Harmony Gold [JSE:HAR] which added 6.5% to close at R72.37, AngloGold Ashanti [JSE:ANG] which gained 5.41% to close at R518.28 as well as DRD Gold [JSE:DRD] which closed at R18.20 after gaining 2.82%. Discovery Ltd [JSE:DSY] advanced 5.32% to close at R85.50, while Sanlam [JSE:SLM] gained 4.23% to end the day at R56.18. Bid Corporation [JSE:BID] added 2.97% as it closed at R228.62, while Reinet Investments [JSE:RNI]closed at R287.00 after gaining 2.95%.
The JSE Top-40 index closed 0.15% while the broader JSE All-Share index also shed 0.15%. The Industrials index slipped 0.74%, while the Resources and Financials indices managed to post gains of 0.37% and 0.8% respectively.
At 17.00 CAT, Palladium was 1.81% at $2020.51/Oz, Gold was down 0.41% at $1724.12/Oz, while Platinum was trading 1.04% lower at $760.45/Oz.
Brent crude was trading 0.8% softer at $21.16/barrel just after the JSE close.
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