JSE drops as investors ponder trade-war reports
The JSE was lower on Thursday morning as traders pondered the latest headlines regarding the US-China trade war.
A report by Bloomberg on Wednesday said the US and China were moving closer to reaching a trade deal as well as agreeing on the value of tariffs that would be rolled back as part the initial phase-one deal.
This follows comments from US President Donald Trump earlier this week that the deal could be sealed after the US election in 2020.
“It shouldn’t be interpreted that the talks are going badly, it was just him talking off the cuff,” fund manager Vestact said in a note.
Earlier, the Shanghai Composite was up 0.74%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng 0.59% and Japan’s Nikkei 225 0.71%. In Europe, the FTSE 100 lost 0.2% while France’s CAC 40 added 0.39% and Germany’s DAX was flat.
At 11.02am, the JSE all share was down 0.17% to 54,931.7 points and the top 40 0.16%. Banks lost 0.67% and resources 0.31%.
Building material company Afrimat said on Thursday that its construction index rose 5.1% in the third quarter of 2019. Its share price was unchanged at R32.
Source: businesslive.co.za
