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Johannesburg - The JSE was weaker at noon on Friday, with trading volumes "extremely low" as a result of the closure of the London Stock Exchange (LSE) due to a technical glitch. This left local investors without any direction, an equity strategist said.
By 12:18 local time, the JSE all-share index was down 0.51%, with gold counters dropping sharply 1.92%, platinum miners falling 0.56% and resources down 0.71%. Banks slid 0.29%, financials were down 0.37% and industrials lost 0.43%.
The rand was bid at 6.99 to the dollar from 7.06 at the JSE's close on Thursday. Gold was quoted at US$1 402.40 a troy ounce from US$1 413.86/oz at the JSE's previous close, while platinum was at $1 791.50/oz from $1 777.50/oz before.
The equity strategist said volumes were "extremely" light because the LSE was shut down due to technical problems.
A number of JSE-listed companies, such as Anglo American [JSE:AGL] and BHP Billiton [JSE:BIL], are also quoted on the LSE, which normally sets the tone for the dual-listed domestic counters.
Dow Jones Newswires has reported that European stock markets edged higher on Friday, as investors turned back to looking at fundamentals after reassurances from Saudi Arabia and the International Energy Agency that global oil production will not be significantly affected by the recent turmoil in Libya.
These pledges helped oil prices retreat sharply from two-and-a-half-year highs. At 09:10 GMT, the April Nymex crude oil futures contract, which rose to $103.41 per barrel on Thursday, traded at $97.79 per barrel, up 51 cents from Thursday's New York close.
By 09:06 GMT, the Stoxx Europe 600 index was 0.5% higher at 282.06, the CAC-40 index in Paris advanced 0.6% to 4 034.21, and the DAX index in Frankfurt was 0.4% higher at 7 156.23. In London, the London Stock Exchange Group said there was no continuous trading taking place on its main SETS trading and SETSqx trading platforms.
This follows difficulties on Tuesday at its Italian unit, Borsa Italiana, which was forced to suspend all its markets for six hours due to a technical fault.
By 12:18 local time, the JSE all-share index was down 0.51%, with gold counters dropping sharply 1.92%, platinum miners falling 0.56% and resources down 0.71%. Banks slid 0.29%, financials were down 0.37% and industrials lost 0.43%.
The rand was bid at 6.99 to the dollar from 7.06 at the JSE's close on Thursday. Gold was quoted at US$1 402.40 a troy ounce from US$1 413.86/oz at the JSE's previous close, while platinum was at $1 791.50/oz from $1 777.50/oz before.
The equity strategist said volumes were "extremely" light because the LSE was shut down due to technical problems.
A number of JSE-listed companies, such as Anglo American [JSE:AGL] and BHP Billiton [JSE:BIL], are also quoted on the LSE, which normally sets the tone for the dual-listed domestic counters.
Dow Jones Newswires has reported that European stock markets edged higher on Friday, as investors turned back to looking at fundamentals after reassurances from Saudi Arabia and the International Energy Agency that global oil production will not be significantly affected by the recent turmoil in Libya.
These pledges helped oil prices retreat sharply from two-and-a-half-year highs. At 09:10 GMT, the April Nymex crude oil futures contract, which rose to $103.41 per barrel on Thursday, traded at $97.79 per barrel, up 51 cents from Thursday's New York close.
By 09:06 GMT, the Stoxx Europe 600 index was 0.5% higher at 282.06, the CAC-40 index in Paris advanced 0.6% to 4 034.21, and the DAX index in Frankfurt was 0.4% higher at 7 156.23. In London, the London Stock Exchange Group said there was no continuous trading taking place on its main SETS trading and SETSqx trading platforms.
This follows difficulties on Tuesday at its Italian unit, Borsa Italiana, which was forced to suspend all its markets for six hours due to a technical fault.
