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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.
