The JSE Securities Exchange (JSE) was up almost 1% at midday on Tuesday, boosted by a strong close on Wall Street overnight and a slightly weaker rand. However, gold counters were under pressure from the weaker bullion price.
By noon, the all-share index was up 0,95% and the all-share industrial index added 0,72%. Financials firmed 0,71% and the banks index was 0,98% better. While the resources index rose 1,37% and the platinum-mining index collected 1,72%, the gold-mining index shed 1,12%.
The rand was quoted at R6,13 per dollar from R6,08 when the JSE closed on Friday, while gold was quoted at $429,13 a troy ounce from $435,80/oz at the JSE’s last close.
The JSE was closed on Monday for Workers’ Day.
“We are stronger today after the United States closed up last night and European markets are holding their own. The weaker rand is helping resources, but we have not been enormously busy,” said an equities trader.
AFX reports that US stocks ended higher on Monday as the market readied itself for the Federal Reserve’s Tuesday meeting on interest rates, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average pacing gains on a surge in shares of the American International Group.
The Dow industrials ended up 59,19 points at 10 251,70; the index posted back-to-back gains for the first time in more than three weeks.
The Nasdaq Composite Index rose seven points to 1 928,65, while the S&P 500 Index climbed 5,31 points to 1 162,16.
The trader added that the market will be eyeing the Fed meeting later on Tuesday.
AFX reports that US economic data over the past month has been soft, but it’s too early for any signal of worry from the Federal Reserve, economists said.
“The duration of the weak data flow probably has not been long enough — yet — to create much anxiety” at the central bank, Ed McKelvey, economist at Goldman Sachs, told clients.
Economists note that the Fed funds rate remains below “neutral”, the level that fosters non-inflationary sustainable growth.
This means the Fed in its meeting on Tuesday to decide the direction of interest rates will stick to the script with a gradual rate hike.
A quarter-percentage point rate hike would bring the target federal funds rate up to 3%. It would be the eighth consecutive quarter-point increase in the fed funds rate since the Fed starting raising rates from a 40-year low of 1% last June.
Economists said the softness would make the Fed cautious about making major changes to the post-meeting statement. They expect the Fed to keep its language suggesting that a “measured” pace of rate hikes can continue.
On the JSE, Anglo American was up R2,54, or 1,98%, to R136,65, while BHP Billiton was R1,10, or 1,48%, firmer at R75,20.
Among gold counters, AngloGold Ashanti was 50 cents firmer at R195,50, but the rest were down. Gold Fields shed 40 cents to R60,60, Harmony was off R1,55, or 3,99%, to R37,25 and DRD shed 7,89%, or 39 cents, to R4,55.
Among industrial counters, London-listed brewer SABMiller climbed 85 cents to R90,75, luxury goods group Richemont added 17 cents to R18,35 and Imperial was up R2,85 to R96,35.
Pulp and paper group Sappi was down 21 cents to R60,20, after the counter came under pressure on Friday when it fell by 10,36% despite reporting a strong rise in its headline earnings per share for the six months to the end of March 2005 to 18 US cents, versus nil in the year-earlier period.
Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation improved to $301-million from $287-million the previous year on a rise in sales to $2,48-billion from $2,31-billion.
Gases and welding products group Afrox surged 5,5% or R1,28 to R24,38. When it announced its results on Friday, Afrox declared a special dividend of 415 cents a share and announced a 193c-a-share buyback scheme stemming from its sale of Afrox Healthcare.
Sasol advanced R2,05, or 1,43%, to R145,05.
Among banks and financials, Standard Bank was R1,32, or 2,17%, in the black at R62,05 and financial services group Sanlam firmed 16 cents to R11,65. However, Absa was off 40 cents to R77,40.
Among platinum counters, Angloplat was up two rand to R241, while Impala Platinum advanced R12,50, or 2,48%, to R517,50. — I-Net Bridge