JSE up on resources, but retailers tumble

THE JSE closed firmer as resources supported the all-share on the weaker rand yesterday‚ while general retailers retreated more than 2.5%.

Blue-chip retailers such as Woolworths and The Foschini Group had a torrid day amid concern that interest rates may rise this year if the rand tumbled further.

Gold and platinum stocks were down‚ as well as banks‚ although they were off their worst levels.

Market focus was on the effects of ratings agency Fitch’s downgrade announcement on Friday, which cast a cloud on the outlook for the economy.

The rand has lost 3.81% against the dollar so far this month‚ after retreating 2.21% last month.

But on the positive side‚ the weaker rand supported rand hedges and miners‚ but property stocks were lower.

“The weaker rand has helped the JSE all-share and Top 40, because about 65% of the all-share earnings are generated offshore‚” Stanlib retail investment director Paul Hansen said.

The jump in bond yields has hurt the property sector. The yield of the benchmark R186 has risen from 8.31% to 9% in the past month. The property index has lost 3.23% so far this year.

The all-share closed 0.54% higher at 53 140 points and the blue-chip Top 40 0.73%. Resources added 1.6% and industrials 0.39%. Financial shares were flat‚ up just 0.04%. The gold index shed 3.01%‚ general retailers 2.77%‚ platinum stock 2.52%‚ property 0.19% and banks 0.15%.

Anglo American and Naspers, in particular, have benefited from the weaker rand‚ with Anglo’s price-earnings ratio improving from 33 in February to 9.7. Naspers’s share price has risen more than 20% already this year. Naspers was up 1.76% yesterday. “Opportunities may be developing in the banking sector‚” Hansen said, with Standard Bank’s dividend yield up to 5.7%. Barclays Africa’s is even better at 7.2%‚ the highest since 1988.

BHP Billiton gained 3.74% and Anglo American 1.63%.