SARAH BULLEN, Johannesburg | Monday 5.00pm.
LOCAL markets had a fairly flat day on Monday with almost no movement in the key indices, with the exception of the all gold index which ended significantly lower on profit taking.
Dealers said the day was vacuous, with the market just holding its ground after last week’s heavy losses. Most of the day was driven by positive news coming out of Asia and Europe as Japan’s Nikkei index and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index closed higher.
Europe firmed on news of a respite in the stand-off in Gulf. Dealers said that international markets were also driven by an widely-held anticipation of an interest rate cut in the next few days by the United States Federal Reserve.
Gold dropped on the day. Not an unexpected reaction, dealers said, after its weighty gains on Friday as investors indulged in some profit-taking. At close of trade the all gold index had shed 3,16%. The financial, industrial and all share indices all closed under 1% higher. Bonds closed firmer at a 16,30% yield after a previous close of 16,49%. Dollar demand undercut the rand, which lost ground from its opening of R5,71 to trade around R5,74 to the dollar after opening at R5,71.