JSE drops as trade optimism grows fainter

The JSE was subdued on Wednesday morning, as trade war optimism fades, while the rand broke through R15/$ for the first time this week weighing on banks. 

Hope that the US and China will conclude a trade deal has been dampened by conflicting reports this week regarding trade negotiations, weighing on risk sentiment. 

”The optimism regarding a possible trade deal between the US and China has been shot down within a couple of days after the Washington negotiations. It looks like trouble is brewing again on the US-China trade front,” London Capital Group senior market analyst Ipek Ozkardeskaya said. 

Earlier, the Shanghai Composite lost 0.41% while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng added 0.47% and Japan’s Nikkei 225 1.20%. In Europe, the FTSE was down 0.12% and France’s CAC 40 0.15% while Germany’s DAX was flat. 

The rand weakened 1.1% in intraday trade to as low as R15.05/$  after Eskom said it would resume stage 2 load-shedding on Wednesday. 

At 10.26am, the JSE all share was down 0.13% to 55,501.7 points and the top 40 0.13%. Banks were down 0.81% and financials 0.61%

Tiso Blackstar climbed 4.86% to R3.67. The company said on Wednesday that it expected headline loss per share to widen to between 46.96c and 50.49c, from 29.43c in the previous period.

Mediclinic added 2.95% to R69.90 after the private hospital group said on Wednesday that its interim revenue for Mediclinic Southern Africa increased 7% in the six months to end-September.

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Source: businesslive.co.za