Johannesburg - The JSE share market was a touch softer at noon in subdued trade‚ ahead of the long weekend.
Monday is a public holiday in SA.
At 12:28 local time‚ the JSE all-share index was down 0.27% at 36 263.43 points‚ with gold miners easing 0.90% and resources slipping 0.53%.
In terms precious metals‚ the spot price of gold was up 0.41% to $1 774.53 per fine ounce‚ while platinum changed hands at $1 635 an ounce‚ up 0.80% from the previous session.
“The potential risk for equities in the near term is to the downside after a rally in anticipation of market stimuli from Europe and US. However‚ there is more conviction in the stability of commodity prices because of the policy moves‚ which will benefit the resources sector in the fourth quarter‚” said Gerhard Lampen‚ head of Sanlam iTrade. “The pendulum is swinging in favour of the resources sector‚ while industrial and financial shares are most likely to correct downwards.”
Leading European markets were mostly higher at noon‚ while their Asian counterparts ended their sessions with modest gains.
Among local stocks‚ Lonmin
[JSE:LON] dropped 2.37% to R80.31‚ Harmony Gold Mining Company
[JSE:HAR] lost 1.71% to R76.82 and African Rainbow Minerals
[JSE:ARM] shed 3.30% to R167.77.
Telkom
[JSE:TKG] was down 5.32% to R18.34‚ and Wilson Bayly Holmes - Ovcon
[JSE:WBO] eased 1.39% to R141.50
In retail‚ JD Group
[JSE:JDG] gained 2.47% to R46.83.