The listing of Steinhoff Africa Retail (Star) brought some much-needed cheer to the JSE on Wednesday, almost doubling the market capitalisation of the retail sector from R91.5bn to more than R160bn. The share price briefly peaked at R22.46 but slipped back to end its first day of trading at R21.77. Within minutes of the opening bell more than 14-million shares changed hands. By the end of the day just more than 69-million shares had traded. Star is the 14th listing to be added to the JSE in 2017. Its retail chains include Pep, Ackermans, Timbercity, Pennypinchers, HiFi Corp, Incredible Connection and Shoe City. Pep and Ackermans account for the dominant portion of the group's revenue. CEO Ben la Grange said he could not confirm when the Shoprite leg of the Star listing would be completed as it first required approval from the competition authorities.