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Lagging U.S. Markets Cause JSE to End Flat

Lagging U.S. Markets Cause JSE to End Flat

From Business Day Live

The JSE closed flat on Thursday following US markets lower after weaker than expected US economic data and the continued US political deadlock.

At 5pm‚ the all share index closed flat (0.09%) at 44‚006.86 points and the blue-chip top 40 index was also flat (0.02%).

The gold mining and resources indices gave back 1.27% and 0.76% respectively‚ due to lower commodity prices.

The banking sector led the gains on the day‚ adding 1.46% as it continued to outperform after some major banks reached yearly highs last week.

“Our market opened in positive territory following on from stronger Asian markets after services purchasing managers’ index (PMI) data indicated industry expansion. We experienced relatively quiet trade until US markets opened‚” IG Markets analyst Shaun Murison said.

“The US government shutdown remains the theme prevalent in markets at present‚ detracting from the theme of (US monetary stimulus) tapering for now‚ as legislators appear to be making little progress in finding accord‚” he said.

Leading European markets were trading lower in late trade‚ following US markets softer despite upbeat data out of the eurozone.

Markit’s composite PMI for the 17-nation currency bloc rose to 52.2 in September‚ the highest reading in more than two years‚ while retail sales for August rose slightly more than expected‚ Dow Jones Newswires reported.

Read more at bdlive.co.za