Johannesburg - The JSE all share‚ top 40 and industrial
indices continued to push to fresh record levels at midday on Friday‚ as market
players awaited a key US jobs report for further direction.
At 12:35pm‚ the JSE All Share [JSE:J203] index was up 0.38%
to 37‚518.83‚ with the Top 40 - (Tradeable) [JSE:J200] gaining 0.38% to
33‚365.93. Platinum and industrial stocks lifted 1.3% and 0.44%‚ respectively.
Gehard Lampen‚ head of Sanlam iTrade‚ said one of the main
reasons the JSE was continually making new highs was the switch by investors
from assets that are perceived to be safer such as bonds.
“The key worry is the lower yield on their capital now that
financial markets seem calmer than they were in recent months.” He said the
reason investors continued to pick industrial and financial shares - even as
they looked expensive - was that they could predict future profits with more
conviction than in mining stocks‚ which are driven by unpredictable commodity
prices.
Major European bourses were mostly flat ahead of the US nonfarm payroll data‚ with London’s FTSE 100 inching up 0.05%.