| The market bloodbath continued on Friday, with the JSE's All Share index falling 4.5% as resource stocks - particularly gold and platinum miners - fell sharply. However, a 98% decline in Anglo American Platinum's share price to R19 appears to have been a mistake, which should correct today. The JSE is now in a technical correction, having dropped 13.5% from its recent high of 59,000 reached in mid-January. It fell 11% last week alone, mirroring declines in the US and a number of European markets as the coronavirus continued to spread across the world. Tongaat Hulett was spared the carnage, closing 2.5% higher after it announced the sale of its starch business to Barloworld as it disposes of businesses to reduce debt. Blue Label Telecoms also closed firmer after it reported a return to profit for the six months to end-November following the impairment of its investment in struggling network operator Cell C last year. Northam Platinum and African Rainbow Minerals also reported on Friday, but were swept lower with other resource stocks as investors ran for cover amid declining commodity prices. China, a big consumer of commodities, reported a significant contraction in its Purchasing Managers Index for February as activity at its factories ground to a halt due to the coronavirus. Also today, four-month results from Consolidated Infrastructure Group, which continues to report losses but says some of its divisions are turning around. And in The Week Ahead, Chris Gilmour digs deeper into last week's market correction and lists some of the results to watch out for this week, including numbers from RCL Foods and Bidvest today. Finally, while the coronavirus weighs on global markets, Ingham Analytics' latest report says last week's budget is a further risk for local capital markets and bank shares. Follow this link to access the report. Stephen Gunnion Managing Editor, InceConnect
Join 3340 other SME's in South Africa who have received business loans from Funding Hub FundingHub helps all small businesses to apply in under six minutes for business finance, comparing multiple accredited finance providers and to make the most appropriate choice based on their business needs. Click here to get started. | 