The JSE was softer in quiet trade at midday on Friday, with stocks just drifting weaker as the JSE ran out of steam in the absence of any fresh direction. The United States was closed on Thursday for the Thanksgiving holiday, and with markets open half-day on Friday, many US players would be absent, having taken a long weekend.
By noon, the all-share index was down 0,22%, led by the platinum index, which was down 1,89% despite a firm platinum price. The resources index was off 0,37% and the gold-mining index was flat, off just 0,04% amid a strong bullion price. Industrials were 0,13% softer, financials shed 0,10% and the banking index was 0,30% weaker.
The rand was bid at R6,53 per dollar from R6,52 when the JSE closed on Thursday, while gold was quoted at $495,85 a troy ounce from $493,80/oz when the JSE last closed. Platinum was last trading at $985/oz from $979,50/oz at the previous close.
“We have had very thin volumes this morning. At the moment, we are being dominated by the futures guys — futures have pulled back about 50 points,” said an equities trader.
Among the few shares to gain was petrochemicals group Sasol, which was up 120 cents to R231,20.
“We were a bit surprised about that, as the oil price has not done much and the rand is quite strong. There seems to be some genuine buying versus thin selling — the fundamentals are the wrong way round,” the trader said.
Among resources, Anglo was down 80 cents to R212 and BHP Billiton shed 40 cents to R100. Kumba was 285 cents, or 2,59% weaker, at R107.
Mittal Steel advanced 50 cents to R52,60.
Among industrials, SABMiller was up 30 cents to R120,30, but Bidvest was 40 cents softer at R92,50.
Cellular operator MTN, which has been a feature this week, was down 15 cents to R56,80. Earlier this week, the group reported strong results, but these were overshadowed by the withdrawal of its cautionary notice, and there was an unwinding of the massive speculative positions that had been built up in the stock. MTN shares ended 4,99% or R2,99 in the red at R56,95 on Thursday.
Telkom was up 15 cents at R136.
Among gold counters, AngloGold Ashanti added 56 cents to R280,05, but Gold Fields shed nine cents to R103,30 and Harmony was 84 cents softer at R84,61.
Among platinum counters, AngloPlat was off R12,99 to R455,01 and Impala shed R13 to R887.
Remgro, which late on Thursday reported a 17,9% increase in headline earnings per share from 491,4 cents to 579,4 cents for the six months ended September, was down 41 cents to R116,44.
Food group Tiger Brands, which also reported late Thursday, was down 40 cents to R142,60. It reported a 32% increase in its diluted headline earnings per share for the year to September 2005 to 975,4 cents from 737,3 cents previously.
New listing Oando plc, the Nigerian-listed integrated energy-solutions provider with operations across West Africa, which commenced trading on the JSE on Friday, was last quoted at 510 cents. It has traded between 484 cents and 550 cents. The listing is in the Resources: Oil and Gas sector.
The trader said there appeared to be limited interest, as only 8 000 shares had traded.
Among banking stocks, Absa was down three cents to R93,15, while Standard Bank was down 10 cents to R71,61.
Media group Johncom, which on Thursday reported interim results, was up 15 cents to R49,65. Its interim headline earnings per share increased by 156% to 179 cents for the six-month period ended September 30. Profits increased by 24% to R160-million.
According to AFX, the FTSE 100 remained higher in midmorning trade, rallying after Thursday’s falls, with Tate & Lyle the biggest gainer on Thursday’s European Union sugar-regime news, dealers said.
The FTSE 100 was up 8,5 points at 5 519,5, with the broader indices all higher, but volume was thin.
BHP Billiton gained 7,5 pence to 892 pence after the mining giant said it expects commodity prices to remain high and expressed optimism over growth prospects in China, India, and Russia. — I-Net Bridge