South African stocks extended losses at noon on Monday, weighed by weak sentiment in European markets with miners further hit by tentative metal prices, traders said.
But the volumes were light as US markets are closed for a Labour Day public holiday.
At noon, the all-share index was down 2%, led by a 3,30% slump in resources. The gold and platinum mining indices weakened 1,72% and 2,70%
respectively. Banks lost 1,35%, financials surrendered 1,05% and industrials were 0,79% in the red.
The rand was bid at 7,71 to the US dollar from 7,70 when the JSE closed on Friday, while gold was quoted at $831,05 a troy ounce from $834,25/oz
at the JSE’s last close. Platinum was last at $1 450/oz — down $26,50 from its previous close. Brent crude futures were at $113,39 per barrel
from a previous close of $114,05.
“Sentiment is extremely negative in Europe. London is down, Paris is down and weakening commodity prices are not making things any easier for our mining stocks,” one trader said.
Dow Jones Newswires reports that all but a handful of companies fell in London’s top index on Monday after Chancellor Alistair Darling said the economy could be facing its worst crisis for 60 years.
Meanwhile, investors in Johannesburg also digested another set of earnings reports from blue chip stocks Bidvest and African Rainbow Minerals.
Earlier services, trading and distribution firm Bidvest lifted diluted headline earnings per share by 11% from 947,2 cents to 1 051 cents for the year to the end of June, missing an I-Net Bridge consensus forecast of 1 054,5 cents.
Normal headline earnings per share increased by 10,1% from 970 cents to 1 068 cents.
The group’s operating profit was up 18,8% to R5,3-billion, on the back of a 15,5% growth in revenue to R110,5-billion.
Distributions per share increased by 10,9% to 495 cents.
Shares in Bidvest were down R3,01, or 2,64%, to R110,99. Also in news, ARM fell R9, or 3,46%, to R251. It earlier reported a 232% increase in headline earnings to a record R4-billion or R1 906 cents a share.
Profit from operations before exceptional items increased by 169% from R2,5-billion in the year to end June 2007 to R6,7-billion in the year to end June
Elsewhere on the JSE, resource giant Anglo American was off R13,43, or 3,29%, to R394,51 and BHP Billiton lost R10,32, or 4,31%, to R228,96.
Sasol was down R10,95, or 2,58%, to R414.
Among gold miners, AngloGold Ashanti weakened 250 cents, or 1,20%, to R206, Gold Fields eased 203 cents, or 2,86%, to R68,97 and Harmony retreated 101 cents, or 1,50%, to R66,49.
Platinum miner Anglo Platinum was down R31,75 or 3,26%, to R942,25 and Impala Platinum lost R5,70, or 2,62%, to R212,25.
Retailer Mr Price shed 19 cents to R22. It said earlier that total sales grew by 16,9% and comparable sales by 8,7% for the 18 weeks to August 2 2008, which constitutes the first four months of its current financial year.
Banking group FirstRand was down 19 cents, or 1,16%, to R16,23. Its retail banking unit First National Bank said earlier that it is investing R55-million to increase its ATM footprint with an additional 500 new ATMs across the country to service its growing customer base, now at 6,2-million. – I-Net Bridge