The JSE closed lower on Wednesday as resources and industrials retreated owing to weaker commodity pressures. Positive local economic data, together with a firmer rand, failed to lift banks and retailers as rand hedges remained under pressure. However, the market did come back toward the close after some hefty individual losses were recorded in intra-day trade. Gold shares gained on the weaker dollar. The weaker commodity trend was led by oil prices, dropping sharply on high US stock inventories. At the JSE’s close, Brent crude was 1.44% lower at $50.13 a barrel. Commodity stocks were also under pressure as President Donald Trump jitters caused a weaker opening by the Dow Jones. At the JSE’s close, the Dow was 0.24% lower following a sharp fall on Tuesday, which saw the Dow suffer its worst percentage drop so far this year. The Dow’s concerns related to an increasingly sceptical view that delays surrounding Trump’s promises of tax reform and an expansionary fiscal policy might affec...
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