FRIDAY, 5.00PM
IT was a bad Friday for shares on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, with the all share index dropping 139 points or 2,1% to finish the day on 6374. At one stage the market was down more than 3%. The industrial index slid 111 points to 7898, while the financial index plummeted 214 points to 9723. The gold index ended the day below the 800 mark, losing 35 points to close on 777.
A major sell-off happened in the last two hours of trade, with a slight recovery in the final 20 minutes. The value traded was 1,025 million rand. With no single local or international event to explain today’s drop, dealers attributed the sell-off to futures activity. They said the market took a hammering because of the weakness in the gold price — at around $301,20 – which creates worries over long-term effects on employment.
In addition, the rand lost close to three cents to the dollar. “South Africa remains part of the emerging markets, and will be volatile for the foreseeable future,” said one dealer. “First-time and private investors have to be very careful, although there are nice buying opportunities in the long term.”
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