JSE closes lower in choppy trade

The Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) on Thursday closed lower in choppy trade, hit by a drop in crude prices as a Kuwaiti oil strike was over, prompting renewed fears of oil glut amid falling demand.

The rand was also weaker after the European Central Bank kept rates unchanged. At 5:00pm, the rand was traded at R14.2851 to the dollar from R14.2106 at Wednesday's close.

The JSE was hit across the board led by a 2.89 percent fall in gold mining shares and 2.69 percent drop in resource stocks. The all share index dipped 0.87 percent to 53,269.86 points, and the blue-chip top 40 dropped 0.99 percent.

On the top ten gainers list was Kumba Iron Ore, whose share added 10.84 percent to sell at R122.96 after 1,637,237 shares were exchanged in 3,575 deals . Also on the list was Exxaro Resources, which rose 9.32 percent to R86.80 per share.

A change in the outlook for U.S. interest rates posed the biggest danger to markets, said Grant Gilburt, a Nedbank Private Wealth's stock broking portfolio manager.

Anglo American was amongst the biggest movers downwards, as shares slid 6.78 percent to R152.41.