The JSE closed lower on Thursday after the rand surprised many analysts by holding on to gains from its recent rally. Volumes were much higher than usual, at almost R33bn compared to the daily average of R20bn, with the bulk of this attributable to Naspers. The media group slumped 3.18% to R3,6877.10, after news reports that its pay-television subsidiary MultiChoice had allegedly paid bribes to influence government policy. Naspers also tracked losses in Hong Kong-listed Tencent, after a sell-off in tech stocks on Wednesday. Investors were switching from the tech sector to financial stocks due to the expectation the former would benefit the least from US tax reforms, said FXTM analyst Hussein Sayed. Local data was positive, but had seemingly little effect on the rand. The local unit was Sub-Saharan Africa’s best performing currency in November, and despite the downgrade on Friday, few investors were unaware of SA’s fiscal problems, said Capital Economics analysts. The all share close...
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