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Johannesburg - The JSE opened higher on Wednesday as news of
a bailout package for Greece continued to lift market sentiment.
At 09:17 local time, the JSE All Share [JSE:J203] index was
up 0.24% to 34,224.81 points, with platinum miners adding 0.49%, and gold
miners rising 0.48%.
Industrials were 0.29% higher, while resources added 0.26%,
and banks gained 0.13%. Financials lifted 0.10%.
The rand was at R7.71 to the US dollar, unchanged from the
JSE's close on Tuesday. Gold was quoted at $1 758.04 a troy ounce from $1
748.02/oz at the JSE's previous close, while platinum was at $1 701.50/oz, from
$1 679.99/oz before.
Despite the Greek news boosting bourses, a local trader said market movements had been "fairly muted", and that these were now "less and less about Greece." He suggested that economic developments out of China, and US economic data were driving the market. He expected jobs data out of the US this week to move markets significantly.
Dow Jones Newswires reported that European stock markets
might start mostly lower, with investors taking a circumspect view of the Greece
bailout deal after so many fits and starts before. The euro was mixed, with oil
futures and spot gold lower.
Greece's government submitted to parliament late on Tuesday
a long-anticipated bill to implement a planned €100bn debt write-down, which
foresees a controversial provision designed to strong-arm investors into the
deal.
In Asia, stock markets were mixed as hopes China would
further ease policy following soft manufacturing data were offset by general
caution about Greece's future, despite an eleventh-hour rescue package to ease its
debt burden.
The Nikkei rose 1.0%, the S&P/ASX was flat, the HSI gained 0.2%, the Kospi added 0.2%, the Taiex advanced 1.0%, the Sensex slid 0.3%, and the Shanghai Composite rose 0.7%.
