The all share closed softer on Tuesday, after the rand once again gave direction to the local bourse by weighing on currency-sensitive stocks.The rand firmed to R13.6875 to the dollar as offshore money flowed into the bond market for the second day‚ despite Friday’s downgrade of SA’s local currency rating by S&P Global Ratings.The JSE also tracked buoyant global markets. Local retailers gained, despite weak data.The RMB BER Business Confidence Index (BCI) showed confidence dropped from 35 points in the third quarter to 34 in the fourth quarter of 2017. The index essentially flat lined, but the retail confidence sub-component dropped 9 points to 29 — a level last seen 18 months ago.Clothing retailers fared particularly badly in the fourth quarter, with food retailers struggling, although sentiment among retailers of durable consumer goods improved, said RMB chief economist Ettienne le Roux.The all share closed 0.12% lower at 60‚082.80 points and the blue-chip top 40 lost 0.31%. The p...
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