After an early spurt on the back of a weaker rand, the JSE Securities Exchange South Africa ran out of steam on Wednesday, with the all share index only marginally higher in noon trade.
Dealers described the market as “stodgy” and lacking drivers.
At 1213, the all share and all share industrial indices were up 0,25% and 0,30% respectively. Resources were 0,34% stronger. Financials were flat (+0,01%), as were the banks (-0,08%) and gold mining (+0,06%) indices. The platinum mining index had eased 0,22%.
The rand was trading at 7,40 to the dollar, about 10 cents weaker than when the JSE closed on Wednesday, while gold was quoted at $357,62 an ounce from $362,10/oz at the JSE’s last close.
“The market is just ticking along. There is nothing really happening,” a dealer said.
He continued that the JSE had initially been boosted by the weaker rand, but was now virtually flat.
“It is not a big movement and not enough to influence the market dramatically. If we monitor the rand recently, it has basically been range bound.”
The dealer continued that while world markets were up a bit, they had been weaker on Tuesday and doing very little to give the JSE a boost.
“I think the US confidence index knocked markets out of their stride,” he asserted.
On Tuesday, the US Conference Board index came out at 76,6, after 83,5 in June. July’s reading was well under the 85,0 level economists had predicted, according to Dow Jones Newswires.
Advancers on the JSE on Wednesday included London-listed diversified resources group Anglo American, which was up 75 cents at R128,25. BHP Billiton was 20 cents better at R44.
On the all share industrial index, London-listed beverages group SABMiller was 35 cents stronger at R51,50.
The group had just issued a trading statement in which it said it expected adjusted earnings per share for the quarter ending June to show a satisfactory increase over the comparable period last year.
Naspers N shares were up 1,35% or 35 cents at R26,20, while AVI leapt 2,22% or 35 cents to R16,10. Standard Bank led advancers on the financial front, firming 32 cents to R33,85.
Liberty International Plc was up 65 cents at R77,20.
Banking group Nedcor led the market’s downside, plunging 5,64% or R5,30 at R88,70.
The share lost over 4% on Tuesday after the group reported translation losses of R735-million and challenging economic conditions for the six months to the end of June resulted in a sharp fall in headline earnings for the half year on Tuesday.
Headline earnings fell from R1,524-billion to R661-million for the six-month period to end June, with headline earnings per share being reduced from 630 cents to 244 cents.
“Nedcor has been downgraded — Morgan Stanley cut its forecast,” the dealer commented.
He expressed surprise that Nedcor’s parent company Old Mutual, which was trading just one cent lower at R11,35, had not come under pressure.
“A lot of Old Mutual’s embedded value is Nedcor,” he explained.
Sanlam shed seven cents to R7,38 and Liberty Group lost 1,20% or 61 cents to R50,29.
AngloPlat, which was initially higher after the group reported better-than-expected results, had surrendered its gains to trade one rand weaker at R239.
Before the opening, the group reported a 58% decline in headline earnings per share to 519 cents for the six months to June 2003 from 1,220.1 cents for
the comparative period last year.
On the industrial market, hospital group Netcare was 1,28% or five cents in the red at R3,85, while construction group Murray & Roberts was down 1,57% or 20 cents at R12,80. – I-Net Bridge