The JSE on Friday climbed to a fresh all-time high on positive sentiment from the previous day’s trade as well as higher metals prices and international equity markets.
By 12.15pm, the all-share index added 0,89% and the all-share industrial gained 0,75%. Financials climbed 0,59%, resources climbed 1,21%, the gold-mining index soared 1,46%, the platinum-mining index declined 0,02% and the banks index surged 0,49%.
The rand was bid at R5,98 per dollar unchanged from when the JSE closed on Thursday, while gold was quoted at $559 a troy ounce from $557,35/oz at the JSE’s last close.
“The JSE has continued to move higher on positive sentiment. Gold and banking shares are doing well today,” a Johannesburg equities trader said.
World number two platinum miner Impala Platinum on Friday announced that its headline earnings per share for the half-year ended December 31 2005 are expected to be between 55% and 75% higher than those for the half-year ended December 31 2004, largely due to stronger dollar metal prices received.
However, Implats said, basic earnings per share for the half-year ended December 31 2005 are expected to be between 30% and 50% lower than those for the previous comparable period in 2004, which included the profit from the sale of the Lonplats shareholding.
Implats was last quoted down 97 cents at R944.
In the rest of the platinum sector, Anglo Platinum climbed 50 cents to R455 and Northam Platinum declined one cent to R23,49.
The gold sector was stronger with AngloGold Ashanti up 1,7% or R5,50 at R340,50, Gold Fields climbing 1,1% or R2,50 to R125,70 and Harmony Gold gaining 2% or R1,81 to R94,05.
Fluorspar miner Sallies on Friday terminated its supply agreement with United States group Honeywell, after Honeywell had failed to make overdue payments and remedy other material contract breaches.
Sallies was last quoted up 6,8% or three cents at 47 cents.
Banking group Absa climbed to an all-time high of R115,30 and was last quoted at R114,41, up 66 cents or 0,6% from its previous close.
Diversified mining group Kumba Resources declined 75 cents or 0,6% to R124,55.
Steel group Mittal Steel added 51 cents or 0,8% to R61,10.
In the industrial sector, Remgro added 50 cents or 0,4% to R124,50, PPC lost 49 cents or 0,2% and was last quoted at R326, and brewer SABMiller climbed R2,10 or 1,8% to R121. — I-Net Bridge