JSE closes weaker as global markets retreat
The JSE closed lower on Thursday‚ taking its cue from negative European markets‚ and a weaker Wall Street in morning trade there. Losses were broad-based with resources taking the biggest hit. At 5pm‚ the all share index closed 1.29% lower at 51‚458.50 points‚ with the blue-chip top 40 index giving back 1.42%.The resources index closed 2.47% lower as commodity prices declined. Banks were down 1.42% on a weaker rand environment.The JSE all share index had been under pressure for most of the day‚ taking its initial cue from weaker US markets overnight‚ IG senior market analyst Shaun Murison said.The mining production figures for March were "very disappointing" with output falling 18% year on year‚ as platinum group metals suffered a big drop‚ Mr Murison said.Manufacturing production in March also showed a contraction‚ decreasing by 2% year on year‚ he said. Meanwhile US weekly unemployment claims were also a disappointment to markets as nearly 20‚000 more jobless claims were recorded than what was expected.Dow Jones Newswires said US stocks were lower in early trade as oil prices retreated after recent solid gains.Soon after the JSE’s close‚ the Dow Jones industrial average was down 0.31% at 17‚656.83 points in early trade.Among individual shares on the JSE‚ Anglo American slumped 6.79% to R125.83 in the wake of a strong rally in the past two days.Glencore lost 3.71% to R28.54 and Sasol dipped 1.39% to R445.03 as Brent crude was last seen 0.85% softer at $46.88 a barrel.Nedbank closed 2.11% lower at R170 and First Rand lost 1.89% to R42.06.Mondi Limited added 1.15% to R293.70 as the market responded favourably to guidance that the group expected underlying operating profit before tax for the first quarter of 2016 to have increased by 14%‚ commented Mr Murison."Another interesting share trading against the general market trend was the Spar Group‚ which was firmer on substantial volume‚ although there was no official news release to support the short-term move‚" Mr Murison said.Spar’s share price ended 2.24% up at R218.70...
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