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Markets are now awaiting the release of the minutes to the Federal Reserve’s latest policy-setting committee meeting‚ which are due at 20:00 local time on Wednesday. Clues will be sought therefrom on how close the Fed might be to providing additional monetary stimulus.
At 17:00 local time the all-share index was down 0.60% at 35 616.71 points‚ with resources down 1.25% and gold counters shedding 0.82%.
International markets slipped with Asian markets closing weaker and the UK FTSE last seen trading 1.24% lower.
The platinum price extended its previous gains to R1 517.50 per ounce‚ partly due to platinum miner Lonmin [JSE:LON] not being back in production on Wednesday. Also the Lonmin’s woes have spread to other platinum miners in SA. Clashes between police and striking mine workers left 34 dead last Thursday at Lonmin’s Marikana mine in Rustenburg.
At least 500 workers of the Royal Bafokeng Platinum [JSE:RBP] mine‚ outside Rustenburg staged a protest on Wednesday‚ demanding salaries of R12 500 per month across the board. The counter closed unchanged at R47.00. Amplats [JSE:AMS] workers on Wednesday also demanded higher wages‚ after Impala Platinum Holdings [JSE:IMP] and Aquarius Platinum [JSE:AQP] workers had done the same. Market participants were concerned that platinum supplies from SA would be further negatively affected‚ with SA supplying about 80% of world platinum.
Lonmin closed R3.03‚ or 3.66%‚ lower at R79.80. The Association of Mineworkers and Construction (Amcu) leader Joseph Mathunjwa on Wednesday said the union - which was leading the illegal strike at Lonmin - had not been able to meet management to discuss the strike.
Elsewhere‚ we saw a major decline in Japanese trade figures that were released on Wednesday‚ with trade between Japan and China dropping significantly.
“Chinese demand has dipped which is more bad news for our commodities‚ as prices are likely to fall‚” said Drikus Combrinck‚ portfolio manager at PSG Konsult‚ in Pretoria.
“There was some profit taking today after a good couple of trading days. We need more solid action from the European Central Bank and more substance with regards to their buying of Spanish and Italian bonds in future. Good US jobless claims and home sales figures out tomorrow are also needed. We need some positive surprises to give the market direction‚” he added.
Meanwhile US stocks opened a tad lower‚ trailing losses in Asia and Europe‚ amid investor jitters over coming meetings between Greek and eurozone leaders‚ and ahead of the release of minutes to the latest Federal Reserve policy meeting.
At 16:46 local time the Dow Jones Industrial Average had slipped 27 points‚ to 13 176.22 points.
Investors are awaiting talks between Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras and eurozone leaders this week. Samaras was expected to ask for more time to meet austerity measures required for the country to receive bailout funds. He will meet with Eurogroup chief Jean-Claude Juncker on Wendesday‚ German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Friday and French President Francois Hollande on Saturday‚ Dow Jones Newswires reported.
Local shares that drew attention were Anglo American [JSE:AGL] shedding R6.52‚ or 2.53%‚ at R250.86 and BHP Billiton [JSE:BIL] losing R2.35 to R254.85 after reporting on Wednesday basic earnings per share of 289.6 US cents for the year ended June 2012‚ down 32.5% from 429.1 cents a year ago.
Massmart [JSE:MSM] closed 50c softer at R169.50. The retailer reported a 34.4% rise in diluted headline earnings per share to 552.3 cents for the 52 weeks ended June 24 from 410.8 cents a year ago.
Imperial [JSE:IPL] closed R3.33‚ or 1.72%‚ stronger at R197.43 after reporting a 14% rise in headline earnings per share to 1‚566 cents for the year ended June.
Freight company Grindrod [JSE:GND] jumped 90c‚ or 6.62%‚ to R14.50 after the company reported a 25% increase in headline earnings per share to 69.4 cents for the six months ended June 2012 from 55.7 cents a year ago.
Manufacturer‚ recycler and distributor of plastic and paper packaging products‚ Transpaco Limited [JSE:TPC]‚ closed 95 cents‚ or 5.78%‚ lower at R15.50 after reporting an increase in diluted headline earnings per share to 201.1 cents from 2011’s 195.7 cents.
Shares in 1time [JSE:1TM] dropped 7 cents‚ or 50%‚ to close at 7 cents. The no-frills airline operator announced late on Tuesday it was applying for business rescue due to financial distress at its subsidiary companies.
Business support services group Mvelaserve [JSE:MVS] shed 35 cents‚ or 4.09%‚ to R8.20 after the company said on Wednesday it expected its headline earnings per share in the year ended June 2012 to decline to between 60 cents and 70 cents‚ compared with 159.8 cents in the same period a year ago.
Health insurer Discovery Holdings [JSE:DSY] shed R1.11‚ or 1.89%‚ to R57.59. The company said on Wednesday it expected its normalised headline earnings per share in the year ended June 2012 to between 10% and 20% higher than in the same period a year earlier.
