TUESDAY, 5.30PM
SHARES on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange ended stronger on Tuesday on continuing optimism about an interest rate cut and a higher gold price, dealers said.
At the close the financial index was up 171,3 points at 10 115,2 and the industrial index was 43,9 points higher at 8 179,5 — off its day’s best level of 8 214,2. The all gold index was 5,1 points firmer at 855,80 and the all share index rose 54,3 points to 6 659,5 — off the day’s strongest level of 6 674,4.
Turnover was better at R677,39-million than Monday’s R596-million.
Dealers said that the market had been a little disappointed by the rebound in producer inflation to 6,1% in September from 5,9% in August but, as economists still expect producer inflation to decline to below 5% in December, the disappointment was muted.
The bullion price was trading at $313,45 an ounce from Monday’s London afternoon fix of $310,75 and Tuesday morning’s $310,60.
The rand traded in a narrow range on Tuesday as players squared out of long dollar positions, dealers said. At 4pm the local unit was quoted at a mid-rate of R4,8140 to the dollar from Monday’s close of R4,8255. It traded between bids of R4,8110 and R4,8135.
TUESDAY, 11.00AM
LOWER-than-expected falls in New York and Hong Kong markets on Monday brought some relief to the Johannesburg Stock Exchange.
The all share index climbed 80,4 points to 6 605,2, on the back of gains of around 1,5% in the industrial and financial indices.
However, dealers felt the gains should not be seen as the start of a trend, with most feeling markets will tread water until Tuesday’s release of producer inflation figures. Meanwhile, trading volumes on Monday were moribund at R595-million.
BUSINESS BRIEFS
WTO RETALIATION UNLIKELY
HEALTH experts at a Wits Business School debate on the controversial “parallel importing” Drugs Bill agreed on Tuesday that the World Trade Organisation is unlikely to act against South Africa, despite threats from the US. “Parallel imports are a matter of interpretation,” said Dr Wilbert Bannenberg of the World Health Organisation. Pharmaceutical industry representative Mirryena Deeb agreed with Bannenberg, but said this would not stop individual countries taking retaliatory action. Both speakers said the government would probably save relatively little on parallel imports.
STRIKERS DISMISSED
SOME 270 diamond miners at Dancarl in the Cape were sacked this week after a five day strike over wages and working conditions, the National Union of Mineworkers reports. About 150 workers from Mozambique have been deported.
GOLD OUTPUT UP
SOUTH African gold output in September rose by 1 605,1kg to 43 136,3kg from August’s 41 531,2kg, the Chamber of Mines said on Tuesday. However, total output from January fell 1 786,9kg to 366 056,9kg from 367,843,8kg over the same period last year.
LIBANON STRIKERS INTERDICTED
GOLD Fields of SA’s Kloof Mining Company on Tuesday obtained a Labour Court interdict restraining workers and National Union of Mineworkers representatives at its Libanon gold mine from involvement in the unprotected strike that began at the weekend. Libanon has hinted that the 7 000 strikers should return to work or face dismissal.
AIRFARE WAR BRITISH Airways on Tuesday upped the ante in the airline price war by offering a free ticket to a child under 12 with every pair of tickets between Johannesburg and London sold before November 30. The airline also plans to add a fifth non-stop flight between London and Cape Town, brining to 18 the number of flights between London and SA every week.
BoE, SMK TALKS OFF MERGER talks between stockbrokers SMK Securities and BoE Natwest Securities were called off on Tuesday. The talks began following the merger of their holding companies into Orion Selections. No reasons were given for the cancellation of the negotiations.
GENBEL LOWERS NSA OFFER GENBEL Securities has amneded its offer for the assets of NSA Investments to R1,2-billion following last month’s market crash. The original offer was R1,5-billion. If the offer is accepted, most of NSA’s investments will be moved to a new private equity fund to be run jointly by the two companies.