JSE lower as retailers slump

The JSE fell on Monday, in cautious trade, as investors waited for fresh catalysts, with corporate news giving the market much of its direction.

The rand was softer, extending losses it suffered over the weekend, and putting pressure on banks and retailers.

The SA currency is, however, expected to remain rangebound over the next few days.

Global sentiment was dented a little by Chinese data, with a private gauge of services activity for January undershooting market expectations.

Domestic gold miners fared worst, while the general retailers index lost almost 4%.

The index lost 5.66% in January, following a spate of disappointing earnings reports.

The all share lost 1% to 53,391.8 points and the top 40 1.08%.

Gold miners fell 3.81%, general retailers 3.95% and banks 2.88%. Platinum miners added 2.45%.

Impala Platinum jumped 7.92% to R41.82, after earlier reporting a 19% growth in platinum sales for the six months to end-December.

The company expects to return to profitability in the period, with headline earnings of at least R2.1bn, or 292c a share, compared with the prior period’s R150m loss (21c a share).

Lonmin rose 9.83% to R10.50.

MTN fell 2.54% to R85.86, despite saying it expects headline earnings per share growth of at least 20% in the year to end-December. –