The JSE was on the back foot for most of the day, ending 1.25% in the red as the latest development in the Evergrande debt saga spooked investors.
The Chinese property giant’s shares plunged after it ditched talks to offload a majority stake in its property-management arm, a move that would’ve given it a liquidity breather ahead of a dollar-bond deadline that could tip the company into default, reports Bloomberg.
Evergrande’s cash crunch has become one of the biggest risks to the Chinese economy, eroding confidence in the real estate sector that by some estimates accounts for nearly a quarter of gross domestic product.
The saga also hurt emerging market currencies, with the rand at last count trading 1.53% weaker from its overnight close in New York, at R14.62 against the US dollar.
Metals prices also felt the heat, with palladium plummeting almost 3%. Platinum and gold were mostly flat, trading around $1,046 and $1,780 respectively. Brent Crude slipped over 3% to trade back at $83 a barrel as investors fret over global economic growth.
Mining and energy stocks took the biggest hit, with Thungela Resources dropping 9.70%, Exxaro 5.44%, Sasol 4.7%, Kumba Iron Ore 3.77%, BHP 3.17% and AECI 3.45%.
On the upside, Vivo Energy and Renergen gained 4.69% and 4.01% respectively on reports that South Africa has struck new gold – helium.
Indicators as at 17:00
Currencies
USDZAR 14.5626
EURUSD 1.1645
EURZAR 16.9530
GBPUSD 1.3818
GBPZAR 20.1165
AUDZAR 10.9230
CADZAR 11.8081
CNYZAR 2.2766
ZARJPY 7.8161
CHFZAR 15.8621
USDAOA 596.80
Bonds and equities
R186 7.97%
US 10 Year 1.68%
JSE -1.17%
FTSE -0.28%
S&P 500 0.02%
Commodities
Gold $1 780.26
Plat $1 047.69
Plad $2 007.88
Rhod $13 990.00
Irid $4 590.00
Ruth $628.00
Copp $10 050.85
Brent $84.56
Iron Ore 62.5% $123.49
Coal API4 $221.00
Gold ZAR R25 903.67
Plat ZAR R15 244.38
