Johannesburg - The JSE pushed to a new intraday record on
Monday‚ supported mainly by gold shares after Harmony Gold Mining Company [JSE:HAR]
indicated that production at its controversial Kusasalethu mine was expected to
resume in six weeks.
At 12:37pm‚ the All Share [JSE:J203] index was up 0.27% at
40‚708.89 points‚ with the Top 40 - (Tradeable) [JSE:J200] index gaining 0.30%
to 36‚327.84 points and gold index rallying 2.35%.
“The sector rotation story is quite evident‚ the resources
sector continues to find favour to the exclusion of banks and financials‚” said
Ryan Wibberley‚ equity dealer at Investec Asset Management.
“Industrials are holding up‚ with stocks like Barloworld
benefiting from strong January vehicle sales.”
There was a sector-wide sell-off in the construction space
after the WBHO said it was currently engaged in confidential discussions with
the Competition Commission pursuant to the latter's invitation to the
construction industry.
“These discussions involve a small number of projects and
WBHO hopes to conclude this process shortly‚ at which stage investors will be
advised accordingly. With regards to the criminal conduct we strongly reject
any suggestions in this regard‚” the company said in a statement.
Elsewhere‚ leading European shares were marginally lower‚
with London’s FTSE 100 last down 0.31%‚ while US stock futures pointed a flat
opening on Wall Street later in the day.
On the JSE‚ Harmony bounced off its multi-year lows‚
rallying 7.60% to R61.70. The gold producer earlier posted a 28% increase in
headline earnings per share to 158 cents in the quarter ended December.
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