MONDAY, 7.00PM:
THE Johannesburg Stock Exchange opened the week on a strong note on Monday, with all major indices climbing.
Andre Crawford-Brunt of Deutsche Morgen Grenfell said the positive sentiment was from two factors: a strong day of short-covering, and renewed conference in the New York Stock markets Dow Jones industrial average gained over 100 points to close on Friday. “The South African markets reacted extremely positively to the positive international data, the only concern being the volatile Asian markets which continue to pose a concern for global markets,” Crawford-Brunt said.
The strong start on Monday bodes well for the rest of the week, which is expected to have a fairly heavy trade, with South African Breweries and a number of large companies releasing data.
The all share index close 95 points higher at 8171, reflecting the bullish sentiment the market as a whole. The financial index rose 141 points to 13678, while the industrial index climbed 117 points to 9873. The all gold index continued its rise from the end of last week to gain 30 points to close on 1050.
The bond market however, did not share the equity market’s bull run on Monday, closing weaker as US bonds fell slightly. The benchmark R150 closed slightly weaker on 12,88% yield, while the R153 closed softer at a 13,19% yield, after a previous close of 13,170%.
The rand barely moved against the dollar, despite the US unit strengthening against the Deutsche mark and the Sterling. The rand was quoted at R5,0605 to the dollar at 4.00pm, while the rand strengthened slightly against the Sterling to R8,24 to the unit at 6.00pm. Gold was at $299,95 an ounce when the South African markets closed, gaining from a previous close of R299,60.