JSE drops as US-China spat curbs appetite for risk
The JSE was weaker on Friday, tracking global markets as rising tension between the US and China weighed on sentiment.
China ordered the US to close its Chengdu consulate on Friday after the US ordered China close its consulate in Houston earlier this week, further escalating tension between the world’s largest economies.
“Escalation in US-China tensions that could have hugely negative consequences on stock market leadership, particularly around the US tech giants, is worrying,” said AxiCorp chief global market strategist Stephen Innes.
At 11.40am, the JSE all share was down 0.91% to 55,560.93 points and the top 40 had fallen 1.01%. Industrials were down 1.63% and banks 0.87%.
In Europe, the FTSE 100 was down 1.25%, France’s CAC 40 1.48% and Germany’s DAX 1.71%.
Earlier, the Shanghai Composite dropped 3.86%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng 2.21% and Japan’s Nikkei 225 0.58%.
Source: businesslive.co.za
