JSE 2016: Blood on the floor
It was a mostly torrid year for the markets, with some blue-chip stalwarts reaching unexpected lows
What a horrible year on the JSE. The chart depicting the all share index might at first glance not look too tragic, with the line holding comfortably above the 50,000 points level. But in truth, investors probably can’t wait for 2016 to be over — especially those who have followed the philosophy of "buy blue-chip shares and hold them for the long term". They would have endured a wretched 2016 in terms of returns. Sweet spots such as the vibrant consumer-driven sectors and traditional rand hedges turned sour, and rotating into better-performing sectors was not easy. And many of the reliable "default" stock picks for retail investors performed disappointingly in the year to date. At the time of writing, Naspers was down 1.94%, while PSG fell 4%, Remgro 8%, British American Tobacco 8%, Steinhoff 2%, Richemont 17%, Aspen 7%, Sasol 7% and Anheuser-Busch InBev 27%. Then there were the popular UK-aligned stocks that were smashed by the surprise Brexit decision — most notably Brait, Capital...
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Subscribe now to unlock this article.
Support BusinessLIVE’s award-winning journalism for R129 per month (digital access only).
There’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in SA. Our subscription packages now offer an ad-free experience for readers.
Cancel anytime.
Questions? Email helpdesk@businesslive.co.za or call 0860 52 52 00. Got a subscription voucher? Redeem it now.