MICHAEL METELITS, Johannesburg | Monday 6.00pm.
SOUTH African markets were mixed to firmer on Monday, as election doldrums kept players away from the equity markets.
Dealers adopted a “wait and see” attitude before the upcoming poll, and it showed in volumes a price movents in the late afternoon. At 3.30pm, the all share was up 6 points or 0,10%, and industrials were up 27 points or 0,38%.
Financials gained 17 points or 0,19% by 3.30pm, while all gold lost 1 point or 0,07%. Massive movements were avoided on the whole.
Bonds were stronger on good M3 data from the SARB, holding at 14,94% at mid-afternoon, while the rand piggybacked on both bonds and the data, and firmed up to R6,21 at around 3.30pm.
While the money supply data helped the currency and interest rate markets, dealers agreed that there wasn’t a lot going on ahead of the elections. Volumes were relatively light and attitudes were cautious, although no great surprises are expected.
Internationally, Asian markets reacted well to positive corporate earnings news, and consumer finance firms in Japan boosted sentiment enough to spark a late rally for 139 points or 0,87%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng picked up 88 points for 0,73% on the day.
In Europe, London’s FTSE-100 was closed for a bank holiday, and the prospect of the Memorial Day holiday in New York also dampened trading volumes. Europe generally saw early gains evaporate, or at least erode.
Frankfurt’s DAX was in the red 32 points, or 0,63%, at 3.30pm despite a 33% gain in the share price of a German erotic toy maker in its third day of trading. Paris’ CAC-40 slipped back to a gain of only 3 points or 0,07%.