/ 24 November 1999

JSE in strong finish

SARAH BULLEN, Cape Town | Wednesday 5.10pm

THE Johanneburg Stock Exchange had a stong finish on Wednesday, pushed higher by an earlier boost in the gold price and a strong performance from resources sector.

Gold reached a high of $299 on the day, boosted by the close-out in the New York over the counter gold options, pushing the all gold index up over 3%. By 4.30pm the gold price had eased back to $293,80, easing the gold board’s gains back to a more moderate 0,20%.

A strong rally in the resources counter boosted the all share index to an overall 0,54% gain, with the financial and industrial indices up 1,12% and 1,29% respectively.

The market floundered slightly earlier in the day on news that the Producer Price Index reversed its recent downward trend with a 6% climb in October. The industrial index dipped earlier in the day, dragged lower by a heavy 3% fall in heavyweight South African Breweries after it announced a smaller rise in half-year pre-tax profits than analysts had forecast.

Dealers said markets were hesitant as they held on for an announcement — only to be made after they have closed — by the Reserve Bank in which it is expected to detail its stance to monetary policy.

International markets were mixed on the day following an overnight dip in the Dow Jones Industrial average. Asian markets rallied, with Tokyo’s Nikkei Dow up 2,29% while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index climbed 2,49%. London’s FTSE-100 index was in the red in the late afternoon, while other key European markets traded in positive territory. The rand continues to hold firm against the dollar at around the R6,13 level while it gained marginally against the pound to R9,90.