The JSE Securities Exchange South Africa (JSE) was slightly weaker just before noon on Tuesday, with a stronger rand offsetting the positive effect of firmer world markets. Dealers said that, as was the case on Monday, there was a general lack of interest in the market and volumes remained fairly light.
At 11.51am, the all-share index was down 0,21%. The all-share industrial index was 0,37% weaker. Financials fell 0,14% and resources retreated 0,13%. The banks index was 0,21% in the red. The gold mining index was flat (+0,02%), but the platinum mining index jumped 0,82%.
The rand was trading at R7,13 to the dollar from R7,19 when the JSE closed on Monday, while gold was quoted at $375,15 an ounce from $373,45/oz at the JSE’s last close.
While volumes were double those seen on Monday, they remained fairly light, with just more than half a billion rands’ worth of shares changing hands.
“The market is just dead. There seems to be a total lack of motivation to do anything at the moment,” a dealer said.
He continued that the bourse seemed to be taking direction from world markets and the rand, surrendering earlier gains on the back of world markets when the rand gained ground.
Platinum stocks delivered a strong performance after the price of the precious metal touched its highest level since early 1980 of $740,50/oz in early trade.
Impala improved R5,40 to R615 and AngloPlat added R1 to R294.
On the gold mining index, Gold Fields gained 55 cents to R102,55 and Harmony was up 38 cents to R104,40, but AngloGold was R1,85 weaker at R270.
BHP Billiton was down 42 cents at R56 and synthetic fuels group Sasol slipped 1,06% or 95 cents to R88,90.
On the all-share industrial index, Swiss-listed luxury goods group Richemont was up nine cents at R15,62.
London-listed beverages group SABMiller was 1,1% or 66 cents softer at R59,15 and pulp and paper producer Sappi shed 2,27% or R2,15 to R92,50.
Cellular network operator MTN Group was 1,44% or 31 cents weaker at R21,19 and telecommunications group Telkom was down 1,2% or 60 cents at R49,40.
Retailer Ellerines was up 10 cents at R27,35 after reporting a 15,7% rise in fully diluted headline earnings per share for the year to end-August 2003, to 335 cents from a revised 289,5 cents in 2002. The group declared a total dividend for the year of 84 cents per share, up from 73 cents a year earlier.
According to an I-Net Bridge consensus forecast, the group had been expected to report a 20% rise in earnings to 343,2 cents per share, up from 285,3 cents per share in 2002. The dividend was seen rising 17,5% to 85,8 cents per share.
Pick ‘n Pay, which earlier reported an 18% rise in headline earnings per share for the six months to end-August to 44,57 cents from 37,76 cents a year earlier, was down 1,3% or 20 cents to R15,15.
Pick ‘n Pay Stores declared an interim dividend of 16,5 cents per share, up 17,9% from 14 cents the previous year, while Pick ‘n Pay Holdings will distribute 8,05 cents per share.
Pick ‘n Pay said turnover had risen 10,9% to R13,95-billion from R12,58-billion a year earlier, in conditions that were described as “extremely challenging”.
Dealing with the extortion incident during the period, in which someone threatened to poison specific food items in return for a payout, had demanded extensive management time and cost the group severely in terms of lost turnover and related expenditure, it said.
On the JSE’s financial index, London-listed Old Mutual lost 1,28% or 16 cents to R12,37.
Banking group Absa was 21 cents in the red at R38,25. — I-Net Bridge