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Johannesburg - The JSE continued its consolidation on Wednesday morning after the madness of the last few days, and most indices were modestly higher by midday.
There is however still some volatility around and some of the indices moved in a band of about 1% between being higher and lower than the previous day.
Technical analysts warned selling pressure and profit taking are still around as the market builds a base for future growth.
But by midday on Wednesday all the indices, expect the financial sector, were higher and the All-share index was at that stage 0.26% stronger at 49 772 points. The Top 40 index gained 0.36% to 44 134 points.
Both indices opened sharply lower but then recovered and improved by almost 1% to be at the reported levels.
The most volatile index was the Industrial index with a difference of more than 1% between the levels shortly after the opening and at midday, when it was 0.33% higher.
Some of the heavyweights in the industrial sector opened lower on Wednesday morning but had recovered most losses by midday.
SABMiller [JSE:SAB] was almost 1% lower at one stage, but by midday the share was only 0.4% lower at R599.26. Richemont [JSE:CFR] also lost 1% of its value shortly after the opening but recovered nicely to R103.90, just 0.16% higher than the day before.
Naspers [JSE:NPN] traded in a band of almost 2% but at midday was 1.34% stronger at R1 499.76.
MTN [JSE:MTN] continued its recovery and gained 2.03% to R218.64. The share price was under pressure due to concerns about the effect of the lower oil price on the Nigerian economy.
Some of these shares were supported by a softer rand, which weakened after encouraging indicators about the American economy gave the dollar a boost.
READ: Rand steadies against dollar after sharp fall
On Tuesday, the US commerce department said construction spending rose 1.1% in September, almost twice as much as expected, while industry specialist AutoData said the car industry saw a healthy 4.6% increase in sales last month.
By midday the resources sector was 0.59% higher, but the index gave up half its initial gains as there is still uncertainty about the oil price.
The oil price tumbled on Tuesday after the Iraqi government and autonomous Kurds struck a deal that will boost the country's crude oil exports to an already oversupplied global market. The London benchmark, Brent oil for January delivery, settled at $70.54 a barrel, down $2.00 from its Monday closing level.
READ: Oil prices tumble after Iraq deal
Sasol [JSE:SOL] was on the slide again and lost 1.10% to R444.89 after it traded as low as R444.46. The share, which was at a 52-week high in June, is now 9.1% lower for the year.
BHP Billiton [JSE:BIL] continued its recovery after reaching a 52-week low on Monday and gained 1.57% to R265.99.
