The JSE was marginally firmer at midday on Friday in the absence of major market-moving news to move the market, but precious metal stocks gained on a spike in metal prices.
At 12 noon, the all-share index was up 0,15%. Resources were off 0,29%; the gold and platinum mining indices firmed 1,06% and 1,65% respectively.
Industrials gained 0,43% and banks and financials were up 1,68% and 0,60% respectively.
The rand was bid at 7,25 per dollar, from 7,27 when the JSE closed on Thursday, while gold was quoted at $663,45 a troy ounce from $663,00 at the JSE’s last close.
“There’s really nothing to give the market direction — the US consumer data [due on Friday] should shed light on which direction the market should take,” a Johannesburg-based dealer said.
World markets have been trading cautiously on growing concerns about the US economy but Thursday’s GDP data assured the markets.
“The consumer spending data should give an updated picture of where the US economy is headed,” the dealer said.
On the resources index Anglo American fell R1,75 to R382,25 and BHP Billiton was down 1,30%, or R2,12, to R161,30.
Synthetic fuels producer Sasol tumbled 2,02%, or R5, to R243. Sasol, which has been gaining from the ongoing stand-off between oil-rich Iran and Britain, said earlier that it would not be selling its Olefins & Surfactants business and will restructure the business.
“While there was considerable interest by several parties, the process did not yield acceptable offers. The offers received were unfortunately below fair value, and it would not have been in our shareholders’ interests to accept any of them,” it said.
Among gold counters, AngloGold Ashanti added 1,45%, or R4,72, to R329,51 and Gold Fields gained 1%, or R1,33, to R134,66.
Platinum producer Anglo Platinum climbed 2,06%, or R32,02 to R1 143,02 and Impala Platinum improved 1,11%, or R2,49, to R227.
On the industrial front, London-listed global brewer SABMiller was off 1,28%, or R2,04, to R157,50.
Sugar producer Illovo rose 2,38%, or 45 cents, to R19,35 and Tongaat edged up 74 cents to R121,80.
Steel maker Mittal Steel was 70 cents better at R116,80. It said late on Thursday that it had started the R600-million construction of two new direct reduction kilns at Vanderbijlpark that would increase production by 250 000 tonnes per year.
The project will take 62 weeks to complete and will add to the existing four kilns at the plant. The company produced 7,055-million tonnes of liquid steel last year at its operations around the country.
Mobile network provider MTN Group was up 1,90%, or R1,80, to R96,40 and Telkom added R1,20 to R166,70.
Media group Primedia tumbled 5,80%, or R1,45, to R23,55 and Johncom lost 50 cents to R88,50.
Johncom announced earlier that it has appointed Acting Group CEO Prakash Desai as Group CEO with immediate effect.
Naspers, whose chief executive Koos Bekker’s unpaid sabbatical of one financial year starts on April 1, gained R1 to R176.
Among banks Standard Bank was 1,61%, or R1,70, better at R107, Firstrand was up 1,94%, or 46 cents, to R24,23 and Absa added 1,90%, or R2,65, to R142,40.
Absa, which owned by UK group Barclays, announced it is going to commit R2,6-billion to low-cost housing in South Africa by the year 2010. ‒ I-Net Bridge ‒ I-Net Bridge