S. African stocks tumble as banks, retailers weigh market down

The Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) closed weaker on Monday in another sign of the local bourse losing momentum after a strong start to the year.

The all-share index was down 0.22 percent to 52,151.16 points, weighed down partly by banks and retailers as the rand gave back some gains against the U.S. dollar after a mixed U.S. nonfarm payrolls report on Friday.

Financial shares dropped 0.59 percent, while Gold mining shares gained 1.05 percent.

Precious metals were rising at that time, with gold gaining 0.58 percent to 1226.52 U.S. dollars an ounce, silver rising 0.65 percent to 17.6 U.S. dollars an ounce, and platinum advancing 0.97 percent to sell at 1009.68 U.S. dollars an ounce.

Local currency weakness can stoke inflation and lead to higher interest rates at the time when the economy is forecast to grow less than 2 percent in 2017, according to the Reserve Bank.

On Thursday night, South Africa president Jacob Zuma is expected to deliver a state of the nation speech. Investors will follow the speech with keen interest, as speculation about his cabinet reshuffle is rife.

Kumba recovered 3.46 percent to R202.84 and Exxaro climbed 2.59 percent to R106.44, but Assore plunged 7.08 percent to R263.67.

Lonmin gained 2.49 percent to R22.2 and Implats was up 0.94 percent to R51.68; Naspers gained 1.24 percent to R2,214.81. Endit