Trading on the JSE was halted at 10.24am on Monday due to a connectivity problem experienced by the London Stock Exchange (LSE).
According to Leanne Parsons, JSE chief operating officer, the technical problem was due to the LSE experiencing connectivity issues this morning which affected both the London and Johannesburg markets.
The LSE continues to investigate the cause of the problem.
“Once the LSE resolved this problem, we will bring the JSE equity market back online in a controlled manner,” said Parsons.
“We apologise for the inconvenience and irritation caused. In a world where markets and technology are so entwined, problems like this can occur,” said Parsons.
When trading was halted, stocks were up more than 3% in line with strong overseas markets.
Overseas markets continued to rally after news of the United States government’s bail-out of mortgage giants Fannie Mac and Freddie Mac at the weekend.
The all-share index was 3,45% higher. Resources were up 3,88%. Gold and platinum were up 1,83% and 4,15% respectively. Industrials gained 2,70% and
financials jumped 4,09%, while banks improved 4,83%.
The rand was at 7,86 from 8 when the JSE closed on Friday, while gold was last quoted at $806,85 a troy ounce from $810,15 at the JSE’s last close.
Platinum was trading at $1 363/oz, up $2 from the previous close. Brent crude was at $104,58 per barrel, up from its previous close of $104,09.
“Markets are still going strong, and still on the back of strong overseas markets,” a local trader said.
“There is still a lot of short covering in our markets, especially in the resources and financial sectors,” added the trader.
Dow Jones newswires reports that US stock futures leaped on Monday after the government seized mortgage giants Fannie and Freddie, guaranteeing that trillions of dollars in mortgage-backed securities won’t default.
S&P 500 futures rose 38,1 points to 1 279,20 and Nasdaq 100 futures rose 41,25 points to 1 811,25. Dow industrial futures climbed 273 points.
US stocks finished last week with steep losses, with the Dow industrials losing 2,8%, the S&P 500 dropping 3,2% and the Nasdaq shedding 4,7% after a string of profit warnings and gloomy economic indicators around the world.
On the JSE, Anglo American gained 4%, or R13,03 to R339 and BHP Billiton was up 4,70%, or R9,43 to R210,25. BHP Billiton said earlier that it continues to expect that the regulatory review process regarding its proposed merger with Rio Tinto will be completed by around the end of the 2008 calendar year.
Sasol was up 2,84%, or R10,60, to R383,60. Just before the market opened, the maker of motor fuels from coal and gas reported a 50% increase in headline earnings per share to R38,09 in the year to end June 2008.
Earnings attributable to shareholders increased by 32% to R22,4-billion from R17-billion in the previous financial year, while earnings per share were up 36% over the same period to R37,30.
Gold miner AngloGold gained 3,74%, or R6,99, to R193,99, while Harmony was up 3,11%, or R1,90 to R62,90.
Platinum miner Angloplat jumped 4,30% or R35,45, to R860,45 and Impala Platinum was up 4,09%, or R8,02, to R204,02.
Cashbuild gained R4 to R50. The building materials maker announced earlier in the day that expects EPS and headline EPS for the year ended June 2008 to be 30% to 35% higher than those of the prior 53-week financial year.
SABMiller was up 2,75% or R4,43 to R165,75.
Among banks, Standard Bank gained 5,20%, or R4,70, to R95,10 and Absa jumped 5,43%, or R5,86. to R113,80.
Old Mutual was up 3,35% or 45 cents to R13,90, while MTN gained 5,82% or R6,69 to R121,69. Telkom was up 1,80% or R2,35 to R132,55. – I-Net Bridge