The JSE closed weaker on Friday as banks and retailers dragged the local index lower due to the weaker Rand.
The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield broke out above its 200-day moving average to reach a session high of 8.68%, as investors sold-off South African bonds. This in conjunction with a stronger US dollar saw the Rand slump by more than 1.4% to reach a session low of R12.81/$. With the US dollar extending its gains, the Rand looks set for more weakness over the weekend however at 17.00 CAT it was trading at R12.73/$.
Retailers, Truworths [JSE:TRU], The Foschini Group [JSE:TFG] and Mr Price [JSE:MRP] lost 3.16%, 2.3% and 2.37% respectively. Bankers, Barclays Africa [JSE:BGA] and Nedbank [JSE:NED] lost 3.01% and 1.22% respectively. Imperial Holdings [JSE:IPL] and Rand Merchant Bank Holdings [JSE:RMBH] lost 2.89% and 1.87% respectively.
Richemont [JSE:CFR] came under significant pressure after the release of their FY18 results which missed most analysts’ estimates. The share closed 3.7% weaker at R118.98 per share. Glencore [JSE:GLN] also came under significant pressure following news from the United Kingdom that the company may face a probe from the country’s Serious Fraud Office over bribery allegations in the DRC. The stock ended the day 3.1% lower to close at R65.07 per share.
Datatec [JSE:DTC] added 12.93% to close at R23.50 per share whilst Steinhoff International [JSE:SNH] was buoyed by news of the meeting that took place between the firm’s executives and lenders in London. The stock jumped 12.5% to close at R1.80 per share. Murray and Roberts [JSE:MUR] gained 4.03% whilst Brait [JSE:BAT] and Greenbay Properties [JSE:GRP] added 2.42% and 3.88% respectively.
Rand hedges recorded modest gains on the back of the weaker Rand and as a result stocks such as Mondi Ltd [JSE:MND] and Mondi PLC [JSE:MNP] gained 1.93% and 1.72% respectively. Reinet [JSE:RNI] added 1.33%, whilst Sasol [JSE:SOL] and BHP Billiton [JSE:BIL] managed to gain 1.09% and 0.91% respectively.
The JSE All-Share Index closed the day 0.65% weaker, whilst the JSE Top-40 Index lost 0.74%. The Industrials and Financials Indices lost 1.07% and 1.23% respectively, however the Resources Index managed to add 0.68%.
Gold gained momentum towards the JSE close to end up trading in the green. It was trading at 1292.28/Oz at 17.00 CAT, after having a reached a session low of $1286.16/Oz. Platinum and Palladium were trading at 885.69/Oz and $968.47/Oz at 17.00 CAT.
Gains were limited in Brent Crude as it managed to reach a session high of $79.87/barrel. It retraced to trade $79.31/barrel just after the JSE close.
Ethereum slid from its overnight highs to trade at $674.37 per coin at 17.00 CAT, whilst Bitcoin was trading at $8079.00 per coin.