The JSE Securities Exhange (JSE) continued to break new ground, pressing to a record high for the eleventh day this month on Thursday on continued demand for South African equities. The gains came despite a stronger rand.
At 12.04pm, the all-share index was up 0,36% at 14 932,4 after earlier trading as high as 14 953,09. Industrials were also 0,36% stronger. Resources rose 0,51% and financials firmed 0,16%. The gold-mining index dropped 1,97%, however, with the platinum-mining and banks indices easing 0,14% and 0,2% respectively.
The rand was bid at R6,57 per dollar from R6,67 when the JSE closed on Wednesday, while gold was quoted at $423,70 a troy ounce from $422,05/oz at the JSE’s last close.
“We’ve got very healthy buying. Volume is just a touch under R1,7-billion. All the big index movers are up in a healthy fashion. In the face of a strong rand, there is still huge demand for our stocks,” said T-Sec’s Lavan Gopal.
He added that the market was being assisted by positive trading statements from the likes of Bidvest and Tongaat before the opening, as well as good news from companies such as SABMiller and Kumba in recent days.
“Big funds internationally and locally are driving this market up,” he said.
Gopal said that with the JSE climbing for days on end and defying expectations of a pullback, a number of shorts had been forced cover, which had pushed the market even higher. As the market went up, tracker funds were also forced to correlate themselves, adding to the positivity.
On the JSE’s upside, London-listed Anglo American advanced 2,27% or R3,50 to R158. It was up by a similar amount in the United Kingdom. BHP Billiton was 1,06% or 94 cents better at R89,74.
AngloPlat climbed two rand to R303,50.
Services group Bidvest surged 4,5% or R3,65 to R84,70 after it said in a trading statement that its headline earnings per share for the year to June 30 will be 23% to 28% higher than those for the previous financial year.
Food group Tongaat, which said that its interim headline earnings per share will be higher by between 282% and 292%, leaped 3,17% or two rand to R65.
Bidvest earlier traded at a lifetime high of R85, while Tongaat’s intraday high of R67 was its strongest since late 1997.
Transport and logistics group Imperial was up 1,96% or R2,25 at R117,25 after trading at an all-time high of R117,60, and furniture group Steinhoff soared 4,27% or 70 cents to a lifetime high of R17,09.
Construction company Group Five leaped 2,75% or 45 cents to R16,80 after it announced that it is still in discussions about black economic empowerment ownership initiatives.
Brand management group Barloworld, which announced that it has sold a 25% stake in its South African and African logistics business to an empowerment consortium, was 35 cents better at R100,35.
Life assurer Liberty group shone on the financial front. It was up 3,52% or R2,14 at R62,89 following its trading statement before the opening in which it said that its normalised 2005 interim headline earnings per share will be between 50% and 60% higher than for the same period last year.
Investment trust Remgro rose 1,32% or R1,51 to R116.
On the JSE’s downside, AngloGold Ashanti shed 2,74% or R6,53 to R231,50. Harmony fell 2,28% or R1,25 to R53,50 and Gold Fields gave up 1,15% or 85 cents to R72,85.
Petrochemicals group Sasol slipped 1,63% or R3,20 to R192,80.
Swiss-listed luxury goods group Richemont retreated 18 cents to R23,12 and London-listed brewer SABMiller surrendered 90 cents to R111,60. SABMiller shares rocketed more than 9% on Tuesday when the company announced that it was acquiring a controlling interest in Bavaria South America. — I-Net Bridge