SARAH BULLEN, Cape Town | Tuesday 4.45pm
THE Johannesburg Stock Exchange lost some ground on Tuesday on a combination of profit taking after Monday’s strong run and generally lacklustre international markets.
Banking and financial stock continued to ride out goodwill spurred by Monday’s prime rate cut, with the index rising 0,53%.
The overall market ended the day 0,41% lower, however, as a flagging gold price helped push an already bearish market onto a losing run. A further fall in the gold price to $258,50 combined with continuing strength in the currency, saw the all gold index lose 1,56% on the day — off its lows.
The industrial index lost 0,19% on the day, outperforming the heavyweight Alsi-40 index which lost 0,70% as poor performances by Anglo American and Richemont dragged it lower.
Dealers said the poor showing was largely a result of investors locking in profit after Monday’s solid gains. The markets was also working off a weaker undertone after the Dow Jones Industrial Average finished 0,4% lower after recovering from a nearly 100 point slide.
Asian markets ended in positive territory on Monday despite Wall Street’s dip. Tokyo’s Nikkei Dow added 0,22% while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index inched 0,08% up on the day.
European markets are fairly mixed as they move into the late afternoon with subdued trade. London’s FTSE-100 index and Paris’s CAX are trading in negative territory.
The bond market remained firm with the R150 trading at 14,42%. At 4.30pm the rand was trading at R5,97 to the dollar and R9,50 to the pound.