ED STODDARD, Johannesburg | Wednesday 4.30pm.
THE JSE has reason to celebrate as it ends the last day of trading on a high note and looks set to extend a recent bull rally into the new year.
The bourse’s key All-Share index was up 1,28% at a fresh historic high of 8556.8 points at 1pm, dropping back slightly to close at 8542 points, 1,11% up on the day.
The market will reopen on Tuesday. The break is longer than usual to allow the bourse to deal with any potential y2k glitches.
Financials ended 108 points or 1,02% up, industrials 82 points or 0,91% good and the gold index 6 points or 0,55% strong.
At 4.15pm gold was trading on international markets at $291,70 an ounce.
“Things are looking positive for next year and some investors wanted to get in now while other people are away,” said George Frantzeskou, a director at brokerage SG Frankel Pollak.
The stock market has added about 57% in 1999, regaining all the ground it lost since it was hit in May 1998 by a global crisis of confidence in emerging markets.
Analysts see it maintaining its momentum and climbing into new record territory next year amid falling interest rates, rising commodity prices and a recovering economy seen growing by just over 3%, according to a Reuters poll.
The difference in sentiment from last year could hardly be greater, when the economy was shrinking into recession and the last Reuters equity poll of the year saw the index finishing 1999 at around 6300 points — over 2000 points short of the final mark.
The rand remained steady on Wednesday against most major currencies and by late afternoon was trading at R6,15 to the dollar and R9,95 to the pound.
Hong-Kong’s Hang Seng lost 267 points or 1,58% on the day, while Tokyo’s Nikkei closed 27 points or 0,14% good.