South African stocks started early morning trade on Wednesday on a rocky note, slipping more than 1,5%along with weaker global markets.
Blue chip dual-listed stocks like Swiss-based luxury goods firm Richemont led the decliners, playing catch-up to losses in their overseas counterparts on Tuesday when the Johannesburg bourse was closed for a local public holiday.
Richemont shaved off 5,7% to R15,65, the top traded stock by deals. Global mining house Anglo American Plc, also listed in London, gave up 0,6% to R127,30.
The all-share index was down 97,53 points at 9,385.30 at 0815 GMT on a broad-based sell-off.
Traders said a softer rand had cushioned the overall market from falling as much as in the US where the blue-chip Dow Jones average slumped to its lowest close in four years.
Most of the dual-listed firms draw the bulk of their earnings in hard currency while paying costs in rands and usually benefit when the currency weakens.
Other casualties included IT firm Dimension Data which slid 3,8% to 250 cents in sympathy with a fall in the tech-heavy Nasdaq index to its lowest close since September 1996.
Peer Datatec slipped 5,1% to 560 cents after the company said it expected first half headline earnings per share to be ”substantially below” those in the same period last year.
On the domestic front, anxiety over producer inflation data due out at 0930 GMT added to the market’s blues. Traders say they are expecting bad news for South Africa’s economy.
Concerns of war in oil-producing Iraq has sent global equities markets spiralling and oil prices rocketing while boosting gold’s safe-haven status.
The key gold index surged 1,7% initially supported by a strong metal price, but profit taking erased most of the gains to push the index down 1,6%.
AngloGold, the country’s biggest gold producer, shed 0,7% to R597 and rival Gold Fields slipped 2,6% to R142. – Sapa