Johannesburg – Gold stocks helped the JSE finish the quiet and shortened Monday session in positive territory ahead of public holidays on Tuesday and Wednesday.
At 12pm‚ the All Share
[JSE:J203] index had added 0.16% to 39‚187.38‚ with gold counters lifting 1.25%.
Nerina Visser‚ analyst at Nedbank Capital‚ said she anticipated the local equity market to continue to do well next year - although not at the same rate as this year - due to a steady pickup in economic data points from China and the US‚ which would spur risk-on trade.
In the year to date‚ the all-share index is up around 26% in rand terms‚ supported mainly by industrial stocks.
“In the short term though‚ there are still storm clouds on the horizon regarding the unresolved US fiscal cliff‚” said Visser.
The US‚ the world’s biggest economy‚ has a year-end deadline to avert tax increases and spending cuts worth billions of dollars‚ which analysts reckon could tip its economy into recession.
European equities were up slightly at noon‚ with London’s FTSE 100 gaining 0.21%.
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