OWN CORRESPONDENT, Johannesburg | Tuesday 6.30PM.
LOCAL shares dropped some of their earlier gains in afternoon trade as investors started to buy futures and sell equities, thereby pressurising the stock market again.
According to dealers the JSE closed nervously as traders waited to see whether the US markets will weaken overnight.
The all share index dropped 0,8 points to 6882,9, while the Industrial and Financial indices closed stronger, ending on 8051,5 and 11882,1, up 11,1 and 14,2 points respectively. The all gold index dropped 2,0 to close at 936,6.
Bonds on the JSE closed weaker after a stormy currency driven trading session in which Reserve Bank governor Chris Stals reaffirmed his policy bias toward a stronger rand.
The benchmark R150 closed on a yield of 16,125%, after closing Monday on 16,080%. The long-term R153 ended on 15,935%, compared to Monday’s close of 15,920%.
The Rand ended slightly weaker on Tuesday after fluctuating in a 10-cent range against the US dollar.
The rand closed against the dollar at 6,2648, after closing Monday on 6,2500. The rand closed on 10,3190 against the Sterling, compared to Monday’s close of 10,3550. Gold ended trade at USD/oz 291,05 after closing Monday on 290,00.