The JSE ended the week softer on Friday amid risk-off sentiment sparked by tension on the Korean peninsula. Gold miners firmed while banks gained on a stronger rand, while resources led the declines due to a worse outlook for industrial metals. Gold miners had been under pressure since Thursday, after the US Federal Reserve signalled it would unwind its balance sheet next month, but were lifted by a spike in geopolitical tension. The session began inauspiciously after Asian stocks dropped amid renewed hostility between the US and North Korea. Hong Kong stocks fell on Friday amid S&P’s back-to-back downgrades on China and Hong Kong’s ratings, with the agency citing financial risks as it cut the rating from A+ to AA-. However, initial market losses narrowed amid a wave of suspected late-session buying from state-backed funds, commonly known as the "national team", to help reduce volatility, reported Dow Jones Newswires. The downgrade, along with heightened rhetoric over North Korea, w...
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