South Africa: JSE's Fall Accelerates As New York Opens Lower

Source from:  Business Day (Johannesburg) 20 November 2007 11/21/2007

After a day of drifting lower, a flurry of selling saw the JSE's all share index tumble in late afternoon trade yesterday after the New York Stock Exchange opened sharply lower, erasing last week's gains. By late morning in New York, the Dow Jones index had shed 1,3% to 13003,96 points, the S&P had lost 1,6% to 1436,02 and the Nasdaq had fallen 1,7% to 1592,67. Before the US markets opened, the JSE had been down about 1% on softer world markets, but in the last hour of trade, the losses accelerated sharply. The FTSE/JSE Africa all share index dropped 645,58 or 2,2% to 29222,48 points as 110 stocks fell, 34 rose and 15 were unchanged. BHP Billiton, the world's largest miner, retreated R7,25 or 3,3% to R212,75. The prices of copper, lead, tin and zinc fell on the London Metal Exchange. Anglo American, the second-largest, tumbled R21,99 or 5,1% to R409. Citigroup cut its 2007 earnings per share estimates 5%, and then 10% for the 2008 year. Cie Financiere Richemont advanced R1,69 or 3,9% to R45,39. The world's second-biggest luxury-goods company and Remgro are considering splitting their investment in British American Tobacco from their other holdings. Remgro, SA's biggest investment company, rose 20c, or 0,1% to R186. Crookes Brothers, a crocodile and sugarcane farmer, advanced R2, or 5%, to R42. First-half profit rose as much as 80%. With Bloomberg. Enditem