A sell-off in resources stocks pushed the JSE into the red by 191 points by midday Wednesday, with players also seen adopting a cautious stance ahead of the key decision on interest rates due on Thursday.
By 12.10pm, the all-share index was down 0,84%, with gold off by 2,58% and resources by 1,55%. Platinum moved southwards by 0,78%, as did industrials, by 0,40%. Financials were down by 0,22% and banks were in the red by 0,66%.
The rand was bid at 7,74 per dollar from 7,78 when the JSE closed on Tuesday, while gold was quoted at $573,77 a troy ounce from $574,20/oz at the JSE’s last close, reaching a worst level of $569,73/oz.
“The sell-off today [Wednesday] was mainly on resources, with gold coming off initially. This triggered some profit-taking, but it is starting to look a little better now. I see support for gold coming in at around these levels,” said senior dealer from SA Stockbrokers, Tim Desbois.
“Players remain cautious ahead of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting on Thursday,” he concluded.
Among gold counters, AngloGold Ashanti was down R6,95 to R286. Gold Fields was off by R4,36 to R132 and Harmony lost R2,06 to R106,60.
Sasol pulled back by R4,80 to R244,20, while BHP Billiton gave back R2,24 to R134,85.
Benchmark stock Anglo American lost ground to R329,50, a retreat of R4,40.
AngloPlat lost R13 to R799 and Impala Platinum was off by R1,05 to R1 248,95.
The share price of listed travel and leisure company Peermont Global, majority owner of the successful Emperor’s Palace casino, leapt by 5,25%, or 52c, to R10,42 after the company issued a further cautionary announcement stating that they were still in discussions with a consortium of black-owned entities and other investors.
South African quick food restaurant group Famous Brands on Wednesday advised shareholders that its earnings per share and headline earnings per share for the six months ended August 31 2006 are expected to be between 20% to 25% higher than those reported for the previous comparative period. The share price lost 65c to R12.
Media group Naspers, however, was still enjoying a golden run, and it added another 90c to R130,20.
Imperial, however, was off by R3 to R131, a loss of 2,24%.
MTN was in the red by R1,25, or 1,88%, to R65,25.
The South African Reserve Bank’s MPC meets on Wednesday and Thursday with the decision on interest rates expected shortly after 3pm on Thursday. — I-Net Bridge