MICHAEL METELITS, Johannesburg | Friday 5.00pm.
NEGATIVE sentiment and thin trade let local markets drift downward on Friday, as the week spun to a slow close. Most indices ended in the red except all gold, and bonds and the rand stayed in their current ranges.
IT stocks retreated from gains earlier this week, bringing a negative tone to the day’s trading, and the all share finished 22 points lower for a 0,32% loss. Industrials shed 18 points for a retreat of 0,26%, while financials dumped 87 points to lose 0,94% on the day.
All gold stood alone in the spotlight, coming back 10 points or 1% from Thursday’s drop as the gold price held steady at $258,45.
Bonds traded within recent ranges, losing only 2 basis points to 14,56% at last mark. Dealers said a lot of the action will be deferred until the 24th, when Reserve Bank governor Tito Mboweni makes his first policy speech, public sector strikers are due to protest, and the US Fed will meet on interest rates.
The same factors drove trading, what there was of it, in the rand on Friday. Weak trade kept the currency at recent levels, and it finished the week at R6,11, up slightly from Thursday’s R6,13 close.
Internationally, markets finished off the week in fine style. Tokyo’s Nikkei-225 grabbed 218 points for a 1,22% gain, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng also made 1,22% off a 163 point hike.
In Europe, gains were solid but more muted. London’s FTSE-100 turned 45 points into a 0,74% gain, while the DAX in Frankfurt made 0,82% from 42 points. The CAC-40 in Paris rose 30 points or 0,69%.
At 10:00am in New York (16:00 in Johannesburg) the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 25 points or 0,23%.