A weaker rand and higher commodity prices boosted mining stocks on the JSE by midday on Monday, but negative global sentiment still weighed on the bourse.
By midday, the JSE’s broader all-share index was off 0,76%, dragged lower by a 4,42% dip in the bank index. Financials gave up 2,63% while industrials pulled back 1,07%. Resources inched up 0,04%, but the platinum-mining index strengthened 2,49% and the gold-mining index advanced 2,93%.
The rand was bid at 7,88 to the United States dollar from 7,70 when the JSE closed on Friday, while gold was quoted at $980,05 a troy ounce, from $972,65/oz at the JSE’s last close.
The yellow metal had broken through its record level of $975/oz hit last week and hit a new high of $985/oz earlier this morning, while the rand had nearly broken through the R8 per dollar level after it had been as weak as 7,9963 against the greenback.
The platinum price was up $7,50, at $2 163/oz. It hit an intra-day high of $2 177,50/oz.
“If you compare the JSE to how the Dow performed on Friday, it is actually holding up quite nicely, mainly because of a weaker rand and higher commodity prices,” said an equities trader.
On Friday, Wall Street’s DJIA gave up 2,51%, the Nasdaq lost 2,58% and the S&P500 fell 2,71%. On Monday, Asia’s Hang Seng was 3,07% lower and the Nikkei gave up 4,49%, while the UK’s FTSE 100 lost 1,37%.
“The gold- and platinum-mining indices are keeping the JSE from falling lower,” said the local trader, but banks and financials are taking a knock because of the weaker rand.
Among gold counters on the JSE, AngloGold Ashanti lifted R4,44, or 1,57%, to R287,94, Gold Fields strengthened R4,99, or 4,56%, to R114,49 and Harmony collected R3,01, or 3,13%, to R99,21.
Platinum miner Anglo Platinum was R35,78, or 2,89% higher, at R1 275,78 and Impala Platinum increased R9,94, or 3,03%, to R338.
Resource group Anglo American pulled back R3,58 to R495, BHP Billiton was down R5,23, or 2,05%, to R249,57 and Sasol added R5,50, or 1,37%, to R408.
On the industrial front, building and construction group Aveng gave up R1,40, or 2,26%, to R60,60 and Murray & Roberts was off R1, or 1,02%, to R97,50.
Business support services group Bidvest shed 50 cents to R115,51. It said earlier that its diluted headline earnings per share for the six months to December 2007 had improved by 10,6% to 487 cents.
Leisure, casino and hospitality operator Sun International improved R3,83, or 2,94%, to R134.
Mobile operator MTN Group dipped R3,66, or 2,95%, to R120,34 but fixed-line operator Telkom perked up 73 cents to R141,73.
Among banks, Absa fell R5, or 4,46%, to R107 and FirstRand weakened 95 cents, or 5,08%, to R17,75. Nedbank lost R5, or 4,27%, to R112 and Standard Bank retreated R4,10, or 4,16%, to R94,40. — I-Net Bridge