Market gains disappeared on Wednesday with recession fears weighing on traders with the JSE trading down 1.55% while global peers were mixed as optimism that created a jump in the local bourse began to evaporate.
The All Share Index closed at 65,713points.
Earlier, local inflation came out at 6.5% year-on-year, higher than the expected 6.2% and marked the first time in 5 years that inflation has broken the 3-6% target band. The news added fuel to the fire that the South African Reserve Bank could hike the interest rate by another 50 basis points at its next meeting in July.
The rand did not react much to the news and was trading around the R16.00/$ mark when the announcement was made. Currently the local unit is trading at R15.90/$.
In company news, Shoprite (-1.72%) said it would be launching a new division to help grow and provide commercially viable SMEs with access to its retail market.
The retailer will offer entrepreneurs support through its Shoprite Next Capital initiative, which will include marketing, working capital assistance, packaging, data sharing, product range and geographic expansion.
Retail peers Pick ‘n Pay (-1.36%), Woolworths (-1.52%), and Spar (-0.45%) all lost.
