The JSE remained in the black at midday on Tuesday, boosted by commodity stocks on firmer metal prices, but continued profit-taking and shaky overseas markets dampened the overall mood, traders said.
By 12.01pm, the share index was up 0,52%, lifted by a 4,39% rise in platinum miners and a 2,37% gain in resources. The gold-mining index added 0,17%. Banks were down 1,85%, financials lost 2,25% and industrials weakened 0,83%.
The rand was bid at 7,55 to the dollar, unchanged from when the JSE closed on Monday, while gold was quoted at $973,80 a troy ounce from $963,85 at the JSE’s last close.
Traders said although mining stocks had much more downside risk than other stocks, firming metal prices opened buying opportunities.
“Metal prices are nudging higher this morning [Tuesday] and that’s pretty much what’s keeping us in the black,” one trader said.
However, Hennie Fourie, a trader at Cape Town-based PSG Konsult, noted that there was “a lot more value in stocks such as industrials, banks and financials than in mining stocks because mining stocks have had strong runs in the past few months”.
Global markets were mixed, with Japan’s Nikkei ending up 2,98%, catching up after being closed for a holiday on Monday, but European shares were down sharply in early trade with the London FTSE 100 slipping 1,48% and the Paris CAC 40 losing 0,65%.
On the JSE, resource giant Anglo American advanced R4,50, or 1,04%, to R436,30 and BHP Billiton collected R5,98, or 2,41%, to R253,98.
Sasol rallied R16,75, or 4,12%, at R423 as the price of crude oil remained steady above the $130 per barrel level. It was last at $132,65 per barrel, little changed from its overnight close.
Gold miner AngloGold Ashanti gained 89 cents to R260,89 and Gold Fields improved seven cents to R96,69, but Harmony was 48 cents softer at R89,02.
Among platinum miners, Anglo Platinum was up by R41,95, or 4,43%, to R987,95 and Impala Platinum by R10,95, or 4,62%, to R248.
Aluminium processor Hulamin rose 56 cents, or 2,95% to R19,56. It earlier reported diluted headline earnings per share of 83 cents for the six months to end June 2008, compared with the diluted headline loss per share of 33 cents posted for the same period the year before.
Also in the news, Dimension Data fell four cents to R6,75. It earlier announced its intention to acquire the remaining 44,9% of the Singapore-listed shares of its Asian subsidiary, Datacraft, for a total purchase price of $276-million, or about 2,1-billion.
Fixed phone-line firm Telkom lost R2,49, or 1,77%, to R138,49. It said earlier that Vodacom, its 50%-owned cellular operator, increased revenue by 14,5% year on year for the quarter ended June 2008, while customers increased by 6,6% since end June 2007
Elsewhere, brewer SABMiller lost R3,26, or 1,89%, to R169,04, Richemont was off 109 cents, or 2,42%, to R43,87 and Bidvest dropped R2,03, or 2,01%, to R98,97.
Among banks, Standard Bank was R1,40, or 1,74%, weaker at R79, Nedbank fell R2,50, or 2,55%, to R95,40 and Absa weakened R2,25, or 2,50%, to R87,75. — I-Net Bridge