JSE opens firmer on mixed retailers as Naspers steadies at R3,000 a share
The JSE opened firmer on Thursday as the market focused on another bout of results from retailers as Naspers hovered below R3,000 a share after breaking through the important resistance level on Wednesday. Massmart and Woolworths were both under pressure on weak numbers. Massmart dropped more than 1% after reporting total sales for the six months to June 2017 increased by 0.5% over the previous year’s 26-week period. Comparable stores’ sales decreased by 1.6%. Woolworths shed more than 4% after announcing group sales for the 52 weeks to end-June increased by 3% to R74.3bn. Headline earnings per share (HEPS) were down 7.6%. "Growth in the second half was impacted by increasingly difficult trading conditions both in SA, heightened in the second half of the year by political uncertainty, and in Australia, by weaker consumer confidence," Woolworths said. Overall, retailers were supported by Steinhoff and Shoprite. Banks and financials gained on positive consumer inflation data on Wednes...
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