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Greek expectations bolster JSE

Johannesburg - The JSE remained stronger at noon on Tuesday, ignoring poor data from Germany and focusing on hopes of a resolution to the Greek debt crisis.

A "glimmer of hope" arising from the Greek developments had given local investors a reason to search for bargains, one equity dealer said, adding: "I hope this is not a dead cat bounce."

By 12:00 local time, the JSE All Share [JSE:J203] index was down 0.50%, with resources rising 0.93% and platinum miners adding 0.73%. Financials gained 0.45%, banks lifted 0.53% and industrials firmed 0.16%. Gold miners, however, lost 0.56%.

The rand was last bid at 6.78 to the dollar from 6.77 at the JSE's close on Monday. Gold was quoted at US$1 543.36 a troy ounce from US$1 538.61/oz at the JSE's previous close, while platinum was at $1 740.70/oz, from $1 729.50/oz previously.

But the equity dealer said the market remained cautious ahead of the release of US economic data later in the day. When Germany's economic expectations came out, this briefly put some pressure on the market.

Dow Jones Newswires reported that European stocks rose on Tuesday, with investors taking heart from expectations the Greek government would survive a no-confidence vote in parliament, paving the way for further funds from the European Union (EU) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

The recently reshuffled Greek cabinet must win the vote in order for the nation's austerity reforms to be considered and discussions with the EU and the IMF for a new bailout package to proceed.

"Market sentiment has registered a cautious improvement overnight on hopes that a solution for Greek's debt crisis could be found," said Rabobank.

At 07:50 GMT, the Stoxx Europe 600 was up 0.7% at 267.58. London's FTSE 100 index had added 0.8% at 5 738.80, Frankfurt's DAX index was 0.7% higher at 7 203.69, and Paris' CAC-40 index had gained 0.8% at 3 828.62.

Within the markets, miners made strong gains as commodity prices advanced. The Stoxx Europe 600 index for the sector gained 1.2% at 541.29.

Germany's economic expectations for June fell much more than anticipated, the Centre for European Economic Research, or ZEW, said on Tuesday.
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Rand - Dollar
18.93
-0.1%
Rand - Pound
23.90
-0.0%
Rand - Euro
20.44
+0.1%
Rand - Aus dollar
12.34
+0.1%
Rand - Yen
0.13
-0.1%
Platinum
906.59
+1.1%
Palladium
1,012.66
+1.1%
Gold
2,221.84
+1.2%
Silver
24.88
+1.0%
Brent-ruolie
86.09
-0.2%
Top 40
68,346
+1.0%
All Share
74,536
+0.9%
Resource 10
57,251
+2.9%
Industrial 25
103,936
+0.6%
Financial 15
16,502
-0.1%
All JSE data delayed by at least 15 minutes Iress logo
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