JSE recovers except for UK-linked stocks

THE JSE rebounded on Friday, but locally listed shares with UK exposure wobbled after the UK parliamentary poll failed to produce a decisive winner.

The hung parliament came as the UK was due to start two-year talks with the EU to exit the bloc. Uncertainty over how the Brexit talks would proceed kept the lid on some JSE-listed stocks.

“As for Brexit, serious damage has been done to the UK’s negotiating position. Without a strong mandate, Europe can ignore the UK’s demands,” said Azad Zangana, senior European economist at asset manager Schroders.

“Even the UK’s threat to pull out of negotiations will now appear hollow and lacking the support of the British public.”

Overall, the JSE fared better on Friday but still ended weaker on the week, which saw South Africa slip into a technical recession for the first time since the global financial crisis of 2008.

The poor local GDP data played out badly for domestically focused stocks, ranging from financial stocks to retailers.

The All Share index gained 0.50% to 52 216.90 on Friday, ending the week 1.27% lower, as the industrial 25 index shed 1.82% over the week. Steinhoff and Bidvest were the biggest drag on the All Share and Top 40 indices.

The rand was relatively resilient against most currencies this week, despite weak GDP data. Bond inflows continued to shield it against the effects of weak data and political tensions.