/ 6 January 2006

JSE ticks higher in steady trade

The JSE moved higher on Friday due to steady international equity markets and improved commodity as well as metal prices, brokers said. By 11.56am, the all-share index added 0,17%, the all-share industrial index climbed 0,46%, the financials index rose 1,19% and the banks index surged 2,74%.

The JSE moved higher on Friday due to steady international equity markets and improved commodity as well as metal prices, brokers said.

By 11.56am, the all-share index added 0,17%, the all-share industrial index climbed 0,46%, the financials index rose 1,19% and the banks index surged 2,74%. The resource index declined 0,76%, the platinum and precious-metals index was down 0,98% and the gold-mining index rose 2,36%.

The rand was bid at R6,13 per dollar from R6,15 when the JSE closed on Wednesday, while gold was quoted at $529,30 a troy ounce from $525,95/oz at the JSE’s last close.

“The JSE is strong again, but it will stay volatile for the foreseeable future. The Dow was steady overnight, while the gold price moved back to $530/oz. The market should pick up from next week as more people are at their desks,” Afrifocus Securities portfolio manager Ferdi Heyneke said.

“The markets fundamentals are very good with buying for metals, retailers, banks and industrials,” he added.

In the resources sector, Anglo American declined R3,60 or 1,7% to R212,50, BHP Billiton declined 174 cents to R102,85 and Kumba Resources added 34 cents or 0,3% to R108,34.

Gold stocks were higher with AngloGold Ashanti up R4,55 or 1,4% at R320, Gold Fields up 2,9% or R3,30 at R115,80 and Harmony Gold up 229 cents or 2,7% to R86,10.

In the platinum sector, Impala Platinum declined six rand or 0,7% to R922 and Northam Platinum declined four rand to R19,10.

Mining royalty company Miranda was last up 17% or 19 cents at R1,34.

With the Nasdaq higher, information technology group Dimension Data gained six cents to R4,75 and Datatec added five cents to R20.

Fixed telephone monopoly Telkom was up 1% at R141,50 and cellular group MTN was quoted 1,3% higher at R62,20.

In the industrial sector, logistics group Imperial moved to a long-term high of R149,20 and was last quoted at R148,95, adding 195 cents from the previous close.

Remgro was last at R123,45, up 15 cents or 0,1% from the previous close, cement maker PPC declined 131 cents or 0,4% to R299,95 and SABMiller was down 70 cents to R118,50.

Industrial group Bidvest added one rand or 1,1% to R95,80.

Petrochemicals group Sasol decreased 20 cents to R226,30.

In the financial sector, Absa added 140 cents to R103,80, FirstRand added 49 cents to R18,80 and Standard Bank added 250 cents to R78.

Food and pharmaceuticals group Tiger Brands on Friday climbed to an all-time of R151 and was last at R150, up R1,90 or 1,3%.

In Europe on Friday, the London’s FTSE 100 index was up 0,13% or 7,5 points to 5 700,1, the Paris CAC 40 index was last up 0,25% or 11,94 points to 4 847,03 and the German Composite Dax index climbed 0,02% to 489,84 points.

On Thursday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up two points at 10 882,15. The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 13,41 points to 2 276,87, its highest closing level since May 2001. The S&P 500 Index gained just 0,02 points to 1 273,48.

The Nikkei 225 stock average closed just 2,84 points higher at 16 428,21, but this was still the highest close since September 20 2000, when it finished at 16 458,31. — I-Net Bridge