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Johannesburg - The JSE closed flat on Tuesday, strained by commodities, which weakened on the back of a stronger rand. A local trader described the day as lacklustre.
By 17:00 local time, the JSE All Share [JSE:J203] index was flat (0.03%), with gold miners down 1.50%, resources giving up 0.80% and platinum miners shedding 0.23%.
Banks were in positive territory, rising 1.73%, while financials added 0.93% and industrials rose 0.48%.
A local dealer said "a little bit of buying and bargain hunting" led to the strong performance of financial stocks. The gains by financial stocks and "some of the industrial stocks" offset losses on the JSE, the dealer added.
The rand was bid at R6.68 to the dollar from R6.69 at the JSE's close on Thursday. Gold was quoted at $1 501.61 a troy ounce from $1 505.86/oz at the JSE's previous close, while platinum was at $1 812.50/oz, from $1 819/oz previously.
"Weighing on markets is slightly weaker commodity prices. The stronger rand contributed to weaker commodities," the dealer said.
Dow Jones Newswires reported that US stocks rose on Tuesday as a reading of consumer confidence came in stronger than expected, adding to encouraging earnings from industrial heavyweights ahead of the US Federal Reserve's meeting on Wednesday.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 32 points, or 0.3%, to 12 512 in morning trading. The Standard & Poor's 500-stock index rose five points to 1 340 while the Nasdaq Composite added eight points to 2 834.
The gains came as the mood among US consumers turned slightly sunnier in April, as more expect their incomes to rise in the near future, according to the Conference Board. The private research group said its index of consumer confidence increased to 65.4 in April, up from a revised 63.8 in March.
Weighing on the downside, the Richmond Fed reported sharply weaker manufacturing activity. US home prices in 20 cities fell 3.3% in February from a year earlier, largely in line with consensus expectations, according to the S&P Case-Shiller home price indices.
Leading the gainers on Tuesday were industrial stocks, which benefited from a spate of strong earnings numbers from 3M, Cummins and Ford.
European equity markets were broadly higher as investors returned from a four-day Easter holiday weekend. Germany's DAX index gained 0.5%.
US stocks ended a four-session winning streak on Monday on light volume, with sentiment dented by reduced profit forecasts from some companies as well as long-simmering worries about rising prices for raw materials.
By 17:00 local time, the JSE All Share [JSE:J203] index was flat (0.03%), with gold miners down 1.50%, resources giving up 0.80% and platinum miners shedding 0.23%.
Banks were in positive territory, rising 1.73%, while financials added 0.93% and industrials rose 0.48%.
A local dealer said "a little bit of buying and bargain hunting" led to the strong performance of financial stocks. The gains by financial stocks and "some of the industrial stocks" offset losses on the JSE, the dealer added.
The rand was bid at R6.68 to the dollar from R6.69 at the JSE's close on Thursday. Gold was quoted at $1 501.61 a troy ounce from $1 505.86/oz at the JSE's previous close, while platinum was at $1 812.50/oz, from $1 819/oz previously.
"Weighing on markets is slightly weaker commodity prices. The stronger rand contributed to weaker commodities," the dealer said.
Dow Jones Newswires reported that US stocks rose on Tuesday as a reading of consumer confidence came in stronger than expected, adding to encouraging earnings from industrial heavyweights ahead of the US Federal Reserve's meeting on Wednesday.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 32 points, or 0.3%, to 12 512 in morning trading. The Standard & Poor's 500-stock index rose five points to 1 340 while the Nasdaq Composite added eight points to 2 834.
The gains came as the mood among US consumers turned slightly sunnier in April, as more expect their incomes to rise in the near future, according to the Conference Board. The private research group said its index of consumer confidence increased to 65.4 in April, up from a revised 63.8 in March.
Weighing on the downside, the Richmond Fed reported sharply weaker manufacturing activity. US home prices in 20 cities fell 3.3% in February from a year earlier, largely in line with consensus expectations, according to the S&P Case-Shiller home price indices.
Leading the gainers on Tuesday were industrial stocks, which benefited from a spate of strong earnings numbers from 3M, Cummins and Ford.
European equity markets were broadly higher as investors returned from a four-day Easter holiday weekend. Germany's DAX index gained 0.5%.
US stocks ended a four-session winning streak on Monday on light volume, with sentiment dented by reduced profit forecasts from some companies as well as long-simmering worries about rising prices for raw materials.
