Traders are fully focused on the US jobs numbers due out later today with global markets ticking up while the JSE snapped a five-day losing streak to add 2.05% at the start of the weekend.
The All Share Index closed at 67,378 points.
In the currency market, the rand crashed through the R17.30/$ mark earlier today – a level it last reached in August 2020. The local unit slumped to R20.02 to the pound and R17.28 to the euro.
The rand clawed back some of those losses by closing time in the local market but the dollar is buoyed by the imminent release of the jobs numbers, which could bolster the Fed’s case for more aggressive interest rate hikes.
The rand is currently trading at R17.20/$
In company news, the Public Investment Corporation has increased its stake in Pick ‘n Pay to 20.039%, it announced this week. Pick ‘n Pay’s share price has jumped 43% from the low points it experienced earlier this year.
Pick ‘n Pay (-0.61%) and its peers Spar (-1.66%) and Shoprite (-1.56%) closed in the red while Woolworths bucked the trend and added 2.54%.
