Johannesburg — Trading remained weaker on the JSE at noon‚ with gold shares leading the mild pullback after the all-share index lifted to a fresh record on Friday.
At 12:29‚ the all share index was down 0.32% at 37 984.31 points‚ with the top 40 index slipping 0.38% to 33 745.03. Gold stocks led the downside‚ dropping 2.41%.
“The market climate is still looking positive overall. The consolidation is not unexpected after a good run last week‚” said Ian Cruickshanks‚ independent analyst.
Last month‚ the all share index gained more than 2%‚ led by industrials.
“The backdrop for commodity-based stocks‚ however‚ remains positive following the uptick in the Chinese manufacturing data although we still need to see a firmer trend‚” said Devin Shutte‚ a trader at stockbrokerage‚ Newstrading.
China’s official purchasing managers index rose to a seven-month high of 50.6 in November‚ up from 50.2 in October.
Leading European markets were slightly higher at noon‚ with UK’s FTSE 100 up 0.23%.
Follow Fin24 on Twitter, Facebook, Google+ and Pinterest.
Share your experience of setting up your own business, or simply ask a pressing question. Our business panel can put you on the right path.