South African Stocks End at Over 1-Week Low

The JSE FTSE All Share index closed about 0.7% down at an over one-week low of 74,011 on Wednesday, extending losses for the second straight session, mainly dragged down by resource-linked shares and financials.

Market sentiment continued to be dampened by recession fears as investors weighed the chances of the Federal Reserve keeping rates higher for longer to curb inflation, despite China easing strict Covid-19 controls.

Locally, political uncertainty lingers, after South Africa’s National Assembly on Monday delayed by a week a keenly watched parliamentary vote that could lead to the impeachment of President Cyril Ramaphosa.

Meanwhile, troubled power utility Eskom implemented once again the worst outage level on record called "Stage 6" after further breakdowns at its power stations overnight.