Weak numbers sideline investors
The JSE closed lower on Friday, ending a choppy week as global risk-off trade and disappointing local data kept investors on the sidelines.
The all share was under pressure for most of the week following the release of disappointing GDP data for the second quarter, which indicate that the economy is in a recession.
The weaker rand failed to lift the overall market, with rand hedges and Naspers subdued amid global risk-off sentiment, which also resulted in US markets losing momentum.
The rand was last at R15.1229/$ from R15.3343, apparently unaffected by strong US jobs data. The benchmark R186 government bond was bid at 9.135% from 9.180%.
BlackRock analysts expect the outlook to remain gloomy in the short term, with little indication that the US and China are close to a reconciliation on trade disputes.
The all share closed 0.11% lower at 57,068.50 points on Friday and the top 40 lost 0.12%. The Alsi ended the week 2.7% lower.
Economic data due this week will be closely watched to see if the economy is showing signs of improvement. A number of companies have issued guidance for higher earnings to be reported this week, with the exception of Impala Platinum (Implats).
Consumer goods group AVI’s numbers are due on Monday, with full-year headline earnings per share (Heps) expected to be 6.5%-7.5% higher. AVI gained 0.91% to R111.65 on Friday.
Property group Attacq will release finals on Tuesday. It said in a recent trading statement that net asset value per share at end-June is likely to be between 20% and 25% higher. It lost 0.69% to R15.72 on Friday.
Clover expects full-year Heps to show a sharp recovery of between 207.13% and 227.13%. It rose 0.72% to R15.47 on Friday.
Implats and Aspen will report finals on Thursday, with the former expecting a deterioration in headline losses of between 18% and 36%. Its share price was 3.5% lower at R19.02 on Friday. Aspen expects Heps to rise by between 8% and 12%, but ended on Friday with a 0.97% loss at R267.06.
The top 40 Alsi futures index dropped 0.17% to 50,738 points and ended the week 2.81% lower. The number of contracts traded was 21,302 from Thursday’s 23,285.