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Johannesburg - The JSE was marginally lower at noon as the market continued to watch developments in Europe.
A local trader said: "The market doesn't really know which direction to take at the moment."
By 12:00 local time, the JSE All Share [JSE:J203] index was down 0.18%. Gold lifted 0.63%; however, platinum lost 0.46% and resources dwindled 0.19%.
Banks collected 0.63% and financials generated 0.35% while industrials dipped 0.52%.
The rand was bid at 7.97 to the dollar, from 7.88 at the JSE's close on Friday. Gold traded at $1 763.85 a troy ounce from $1 752.47/oz at the JSE's previous close, while platinum was at $1 628.70/oz, from $1 627.70/oz previously.
The trader said the market was down a little in line with overseas markets. Locally, banks were reasonably firm. Investors may be searching for where the value lies. Absa in particular was a little oversold.
She said that more activity wasn't expected today, especially because of the time change in the US that would see the Dow open just before the JSE close.
European stocks in red
Dow Jones Newswires reported that European stocks fell into the red Monday despite initial expectations for a positive start, as the focus shifted from Greece to Italy on fears about the stability of Italy's government and its ability to tackle its own debt crisis, sending 10-year Italian bond yields soaring.
Political unease in Italy and fears about the way it is tackling its public debt problems resulted in Italian yields hitting new euro-era highs, with 10-year yields breaching the 6.50% mark. At the same time, the euro slumped against the dollar.
Concerns about Italy were exacerbated by comments made by European Central Bank board member Yves Mersch. In an interview with Italian paper La Stampa, Mersch said the ECB had discussed not buying Italian debt if the government did not give enough evidence that it would stick to its restructure and reform plans.
Earlier, Asian stock markets closed down overall as fears about the eurozone continued.
A local trader said: "The market doesn't really know which direction to take at the moment."
By 12:00 local time, the JSE All Share [JSE:J203] index was down 0.18%. Gold lifted 0.63%; however, platinum lost 0.46% and resources dwindled 0.19%.
Banks collected 0.63% and financials generated 0.35% while industrials dipped 0.52%.
The rand was bid at 7.97 to the dollar, from 7.88 at the JSE's close on Friday. Gold traded at $1 763.85 a troy ounce from $1 752.47/oz at the JSE's previous close, while platinum was at $1 628.70/oz, from $1 627.70/oz previously.
The trader said the market was down a little in line with overseas markets. Locally, banks were reasonably firm. Investors may be searching for where the value lies. Absa in particular was a little oversold.
She said that more activity wasn't expected today, especially because of the time change in the US that would see the Dow open just before the JSE close.
European stocks in red
Dow Jones Newswires reported that European stocks fell into the red Monday despite initial expectations for a positive start, as the focus shifted from Greece to Italy on fears about the stability of Italy's government and its ability to tackle its own debt crisis, sending 10-year Italian bond yields soaring.
Political unease in Italy and fears about the way it is tackling its public debt problems resulted in Italian yields hitting new euro-era highs, with 10-year yields breaching the 6.50% mark. At the same time, the euro slumped against the dollar.
Concerns about Italy were exacerbated by comments made by European Central Bank board member Yves Mersch. In an interview with Italian paper La Stampa, Mersch said the ECB had discussed not buying Italian debt if the government did not give enough evidence that it would stick to its restructure and reform plans.
Earlier, Asian stock markets closed down overall as fears about the eurozone continued.
