Johannesburg – South African
near-dated futures ended higher on Thursday boosted by hopes for
supportive action by central banks and gains by SA’s gold miners.
The near-dated Alsi gained 0.77% to end
at 31 453 points.
The total number of contracts that
exchanged hands was 31 417 from 31 214 on Wednesday.
The rand was unchanged at 8.21 to the
US dollar‚ and the spot price of gold was $1 615.09 per fine ounce
from $1 603.50/oz.
Dow Jones Newswires reported that most
US stocks edged lower in early trade as a weak report from the
Philadelphia Fed on the manufacturing sector offset an upbeat reading
on future US home construction.
However‚ markets reversed earlier
losses and the Dow was trading in positive territory in the late
morning.
Gains in core European markets helped
the tone in European markets‚ the newswire reported.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up
last seen up 0.29%.