Johannesburg - Banks pushed the JSE to yet another record at midday on Thursday‚ as December futures closeout ended.
Closeouts are the dates when futures contracts are settled‚ with players placing their bets on the market's future direction.
At 12:43‚ the All Share
[JSE:J203] index was up 0.21% to 39‚247.65 points with banks lifting 0.72%.
“The underlying demand and support for stocks remains strong‚” said Ryan Wibberley‚ equity dealer at Investec Asset Management.
For the month‚ the all-share index is up 3%‚ led by platinum counters‚ up more than 11% while banks have gained almost 9%.
Major European stock market benchmarks were mostly flat at noon‚ as were the Dow futures.
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