The JSE fell sharply for a second straight session on Friday, leaving the all share at its weakest level since early February. The concern about a trade war between the US and China rattled global equities, while traditional safe-haven assets benefited from the risk-off trade. The all share was down a hefty 1.59% to 56,315.70 points at lunchtime, as the top 40 tumbled 1.7%. All the main underlying indices dropped, save for an index of leading gold stocks that profited from a higher gold price. The rand stood its ground though, helping to limit losses in banks and other domestic industrial stocks. The rand tends to be sensitive to shifts in global sentiment, but this time held steady on the day at about R11.80/$ and was much stronger compared with lows of R12.11/$ at the start of the week. There is a groundswell of optimism that SA will dodge a sovereign credit rating downgrade when Moody’s releases results its long awaited reviews on Friday night — a development that helps explain t...
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