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The JSE eased yesterday as rand hedges retreated due to the firmer rand.

The rand recouped some of its losses following the rebound in the Turkish lira. The local currency managed to strengthen to a session high of R14.02 against the greenback before it retraced to trade at R14.20/$ at 17:00.

On the JSE, Gold Fields grabbed the headlines following the release of its trading statement. The main highlight was that the company intends to cut 1 560 jobs as it seeks to reduce its cost structure in order to improve the business’s sustainability. The stock traded under significant pressure as it lost 13.82% to close at R43.62 per share.

Naspers also slipped following news which directly impact its Hong Kong associate Tencent Holdings. On the Hang Seng, Tencent Holdings closed 3.43% weaker following the ban imposed on one of its games by Chinese regulators. This resulted in Naspers trading softer on the JSE, eventually closing the day 2.06% weaker at R3 335.00 per share.

Other blue-chip stocks such as Anglo American lost 2.95% to close at R298.44, while Richemont pulled back to R123.36 per share after shedding 0.52%.

Sasol eased to R523.60 per share after dropping 1.6% and British American Tobacco was 0.16% softer to close at R754.61.

On the day’s gainers, KAP Industrial Holdings was buoyed by the release of its full-year results which showed decent increases in revenue and profit. The stock managed to gain 3.68% to close at R7.33 per share.

Financials rose on the back of the firmer rand which saw banks such as FirstRand rally 3.57% to R65.30, while Nedbank posted gains of 1.88% to close at R263.83 per share.

The JSE All-Share index eventually closed 0.48% lower, while the JSE Top-40 index weakened by 0.52%. The Financials index was the only major index to close in the green after picking up 1.06%. The Resources and Industrials indices lost 1.45% and 0.62% respectively. — Fin24