The JSE Securities Exchange South Africa (JSE) was awash with red in noon trade on Thursday, ignoring a softer rand to focus instead on global market weakness. Losses were widespread and decliners outnumbered advancers on the all-share index by more than two to one.
At 11.58am, the all-share and all-share industrial indices were down 0,87% and 0,45% respectively. Financials fell 0,6% in morning trade and the banks index lost 0,29%. Resources retreated 1,38%, the gold mining index gave up 1,68%, but the platinum mining index inched up 0,32%.
The rand was quoted at R6,75 to the dollar from R6,69 when the JSE closed on Wednesday, while gold was quoted at $397,70 an ounce from $399,90/oz at the JSE’s last close.
Thursday’s losses extended the JSE’s losing streak into a sixth day.
“It is very, very quiet. Stocks are taking an absolute hammering. The weaker rand should be supporting the market but it doesn’t seem to be affecting it at all,” a dealer said.
He explained that the JSE was following world markets, which were all experiencing a bit of a sell-off.
The dealer noted that, although the platinum price was almost at an all-time high in rand terms, platinum stocks were up only slightly. On Wednesday, the platinum price touched a fresh 24-year high of $915,50, yet the platinum mining index fell more than 1%.
“The market is not responding to good news, which is a bad sign. I don’t think this is just a period of consolidation — there is a definite downward trend. People are not looking at fundamentals. When markets go down, volumes tend to dry up. There is no big buying interest at the moment and when that happens markets tend to drift down.”
London-listed diversified resources group Anglo American tumbled 2,06% or R3,30 to R156,90 and BHP Billiton was 1,1% or 66 cents weaker at R59,35.
AngloGold was down 1,79% or R5,02 at R275, Gold Fields fell 1,23% or one rand to R80,60 and Harmony weakened 1,95% or two rand at R100,50.
Synthetic fuels group Sasol slipped 1,1% or R1,10 to R98,50.
Pulp and paper producer Sappi shed 1,42% or R1,30 to R90,30 and brand management group Barloworld weakened 1,09% or 75
cents to R67,75.
Chemical and explosives group AECI plunged 2,97% or R1,07 to R35.
Retailer Edcon tumbled 2,24% or R2,98 to R130,02.
On the financial front, London-listed Old Mutual lost 2,02% or 24 cents to R11,66.
Investec plc was down 1,07% or R1,50 at R139.
On the JSE’s upside, AngloPlat added R1,01 to R291 and Impala was R1,50 firmer at R554.
Food group Tiger Brands ticked up 25 cents to R86,25.
Metropolitan Holdings was 1,28% or 10 cents in the black at R7,90.
Before the opening on Wednesday, Metropolitan reported a rise in core headline earnings per share for the year to end-December 2003 to 62,09 cents from 55,26 cents a year earlier. The group declared a final dividend of 25 cents per share, for a total dividend for the year of 43 cents, up 13% from 38 cents in 2002. — I-Net Bridge