JSE closes weaker on Wednesday

The Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) closed weaker on Wednesday .

The all share index dropped 0.38 percent to 51,552.32 points, weighted down by big-cap companies such as Sasol, as the price of Brent crude slipped back towards the 50 U.S. dollars a barrel mark.

The South African rand was trading at R13.88 to the U.S. dollar, R16.95 to the British pound and R15.15 to the euro.

Precious metals were mixed, with gold falling 0.37 percent to sell at 1,268.68 U.S. dollars an ounce, silver slipping 0.34 percent to 17.67 U.S. dollars an ounce, and platinum gaining by 0.71 percent to 967.12 U.S. dollars an ounce.

The main focus on Wednesday was on the medium-term budget policy statement, which analysts envisaged to boost the rand if it proved market friendly.

Among some individual shares on the JSE, Anglo American was up 0.04 percent to R185.68 and Sasol shed 2.37 percent to R387.61. Impala Platinum slipped 1.60 percent to R54.69.

British American Tobacco was off 1.66 percent to R780.82 and Aspen Pharmacare dropped 1.27 percent to R304.49. Endit