The JSE Securities Exchange (JSE) was firm in noon trade on Friday on the back of futures buying despite a stronger rand.
At 12.11pm, the all-share index was up 0,59%. Both the resources and gold mining indices climbed 1,22%. The all share industrial index edged up 0,15%.
The financial and banks indices added 0,24% and 0,29% respectively, while the platinum mining index gained 0,14%.
The rand was quoted at R6,24 per dollar from R6,26 when the JSE opened on Friday and R6,30 when the JSE closed on Thursday, while gold was quoted at $389,70/oz from $388,05/oz when the JSE last closed.
AFX reports that United States stocks closed higher on Thursday with the Dow Jones Industrial Average extending its winning streak to three sessions, overcoming steep losses in General Motors after it was hit by two analyst downgrades.
In Tokyo on Friday morning, share prices closed broadly higher, led by a rebound in technology shares amid relief over gains by US tech stocks overnight and strong first-quarter earnings results posted this week by Japanese technology companies such as Canon, Advantest and Matsushita, dealers said.
“The market is looking good on the back of futures buying, which in turn are responding to the gains in overseas markets,” a dealer said.
Shares in world number-two gold miner AngloGold Ashanti on the JSE declined 3% in early trade on Friday following a poorer-than-expected June quarter result, but by midday had gained 290 cents or 1,42% to R206,89.
Earlier, the group reported a 29% decline in adjusted headline earnings per share to 127 cents for the June quarter from 179 cents in the March quarter.
Eight analysts polled by I-Net Bridge had expected adjusted headline earnings per share of 138 cents. Analysts’ forecasts ranged from 80 cents to 191 cents.
AngloGold Ashanti reported a June quarter headline loss per share of nine cents, down from a profit of 128 cents in the March quarter.
This is the first set of financial results published by AngloGold Ashanti since the merger of South Africa’s AngloGold and Ghana’s Ashanti Goldfields in late April.
The group’s June quarter gold output was 1,490-million troy ounces, down 3% from the previous target for the quarter of 1,53-million oz given by AngloGold Ashanti CEO Bobby Godsell in April. AngloGold Ashanti has 25 operations in 11 countries.
Dealers said the other feature of the opening was small gold miner Afrikander Lease, which shot up by 11 cents or 8,21% to 145 cents after touching only 85 cents on Monday.
Economists are expecting US second-quarter economic growth to come in at 3,6% quarter-on-quarter seasonally adjusted annualised from 3,9% in the first quarter. — I-Net Bridge