MICHAEL METELITS, Johannesburg | Wednesday 5.00pm.
SOUTH African markets fell on Wednesday in line with international trends. Overnight losses on Wall Street pulled the rug out from under Asian and European markets, and the signals spread southward from there.
The all share lost 57 points, or 0,81%, while industrials lost 59 points or 0,77%. Financials kept losses lower, 26 points of 0,25%, mostly because local players bought financial stocks in the face of the decline.
All gold continued to lose ground in the shadow of planned IMF gold sales, slipping 12 points or 1,41%.
Dealers blamed a negative day internationally for the decline, noting that there was offshore interest in Anglo and De Beers, and local dealers bought financial stocks through the day.
Bonds lost 15 basis points on the day, as early gains were undercut by the Finance Ministry’s announcement of a R500-million R186 bond auction on June 29. The benchmark R150 slipped to 14,57% from Tuesday’s 14,42% close.
The rand slipped also from its Tuesday close of R5,97 to the dollar, breaching the R6 barrier to close at R6,02. Dealers mostly noted this as sideways movement, with most of the activity coming out of London.
Internationally, signals were clear and negative. Following the 95 point decline in New York on Tuesday, Asian markets tumbled. The Nikkei-225 lost 191 points or 1,07%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng dropped 104 points for a drop of 0,74%.
Europe, too, felt the decline. London’s FTSE-100 dumped 64 points or 0,98%, while Frankfurt’s DAX slipped 0,59% or 32 points.