The JSE Securities Exchange drifted weaker at the opening on Wednesday on the back of a slight recovery in the rand.
At 9.17am, the all share index was down 0,17%. Resources retreated 0,53% and the gold mining index surrendered 0,49%. The all share industrial (-0,02%) and platinum mining indices were flat. Financials firmed 0,2% and the banks index inched up 0,08%.
The rand was quoted at 6,56 per dollar from 6,59 when the JSE closed on Tuesday, while gold was quoted at $413,95 an ounce from $414,30/oz at the JSE’s last close.
“The market is tending a bit weaker. Stocks like Anglo and Billiton are coming off in London and that is coming through on our side. The rand is also a touch firmer,” a dealer said.
She added, however, that the JSE was pretty mixed.
With players awaiting the South African Reserve Bank Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) decision on interest rates due on Thursday afternoon, it had been a slow start on the bourse and people were not expecting any fireworks.
By 9.32am, BHP Billiton lost 1,22% or 86 cents to R69,40, but Anglo American was off just five cents at R151,95.
Petrochemicals group Sasol slid 1,19% or R1,54 to R127,61.
AngloGold Ashanti shed 1,41% or R3,50 to R244,50, Harmony weakened 1,25% or R1,10 to R87,10 and Gold Fields fell 1,25% or R1,10 to R90,50.
London-listed brewer SABMiller eased 25 cents to R87,50 and hospital group Netcare tumbled 1,61% or nine cents to R5,51.
AVI, however, advanced 2,25% or 50 cents to R22,75 and Tiger Brands ticked up one rand to R103.
AVI said on Tuesday that it has concluded the purchase of Owens-Illinois 19,3% minority stake in glass packaging company Consol for R525-million. Consol is to be unbundled and re-listed on the JSE South Africa by March 2005. It was delisted in January 1998.
Standard Bank strengthened 29 cents to R50,30. Old Mutual and Sanlam both firmed nine cents to trade at R13,35 and R10,69 respectively.
FirstRand fell 10 cents to R11,50 and Nedcor was 60 cents in the red at R61,20.
AFX reports the major US indexes battled back near the flat line on Tuesday, closing little changed after crude-oil prices retreated from the record highs set earlier in the session.
Sharp gains in Johnson & Johnson, after the company bested forecasts for the third quarter, helped bolster the Dow.
Chip stocks continued to weigh on the Nasdaq, however, after a cautious outlook from Dutch consumer electronics giant Philips Electronics.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 4,79 points at 10,077.18, bouncing off an intraday low of 10,017. The Nasdaq Composite Index was off 3,59 points, or 0,2%, to 1,925.17, recovering from its 1,904 nadir. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index dropped 2,55 points, or 0,2%, to 1,121.84, up from its 1,115 intraday low. – I-Net Bridge