JSE falls as worry about tariffs hits global equities
The local bourse tracked generally subdued global markets, but an upbeat production report from Harmony helped lift the gold index
The JSE ended Monday lower, in line with most major equity markets, as trade-war concerns once again prompted investors to sell risk assets.A weaker rand gave the local bourse much of its direction, with some miners also lower, amid a slew of local corporate earnings reports.The all share fell 0.76% to 56,556.8 points and the top 40 dropped 0.83%. Industrials lost 1.29%, banks 1.04% and food and drug retailers 0.85%.Global market focus remained on issues of a trade war. The failure at the weekend of Group of 20 (G-20) finance officials to make progress in addressing trade concerns weighed on the market, with hints that the White House could push ahead with even more tariffs on Chinese goods.US President Donald Trump’s comments on social media about Iran — in which he warned that country against aggression towards the US — also weighed on sentiment, said FXTM head of currency strategy Jameel Ahmad.Domestically, annual results from power utility Eskom’s were also in the spotlight, wit...
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