SARAH BULLEN, Cape Town | Friday 5.30pm
THE Johannesburg Stock Exchange ran out of steam on Friday afternoon, after climbing marginally higher earlier in a day dominated by futures trade.
The major indices closed mixed, with only the industrial and IT counters ending in positive territory. Boosting the IT sector was news that Prism rose 20,1% on news that it and Accord have entered into discussions for Prism to acquire elements of Accord’s mobile commerce business.
By close of trade the all share index had lost 0,34%, with the financial index down 0,31%.
The gold price was last bid at $304,25 an ounce from a New York close Thursday of US $301,25 an ounce. Despite gold’s firmer price the all gold index was off on the day, losing an overall 0,70%.
Dealers said that the market is likely to swing sideways from Monday ahead of the national budget as speculation about a potential easing of foreign exchange controls mounts.
But once the national accounts due for release on Wednesday out of the way, analysts expect the market to move up, saying it offers value after a losing streak of the past month. International markets were mixed after a flat session on Wall Street on Thursday. Japan’s Nikkei Dow ended 0,97% higher while the Hong Kong Hang Seng index down 2,25%.
At 5.30pm the rand was quoted at R6,32 to the dollar and R10,09 to the pound.