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Johannesburg - The JSE began the day up, taking initial direction from overseas markets, but awaited more news.
A local trader said that trade had been edged up at the open, however, investors would keep an eye on international markets going forward.
She said bond sales in the EU had generally helped markets out on Thursday. The rand level would be monitored by investors on Friday, along with PPI data from the UK.
At 09:15 local time, the JSE All Share [JSE:J203] index was up 0.21%. Platinums lifted 0.24%, while gold stocks lost 0.25% and resources were fairly flat (0.07%).
Industrials collected 0.30%, financials rose 0.25%, while banks garnered 0.16%.
The rand was bid at R8.02 to the dollar from R8.03 at the JSE's close on Friday. Gold traded at $1 647.11 a troy ounce from $1 662.11 at the JSE's previous close, while platinum was quoted at $1 489.53/oz, from $1 501.50/oz at the previous close.
Dow Jones Newswires reported that Asian stock markets were mostly higher on Friday due to news of successful debt auctions in Europe and as the European Central Bank's decision to leave interest rates unchanged suggested officials weren't overly worried about the health of the eurozone economy.
European states on Thursday reached an outline agreement on a pact to reinforce fiscal discipline that calls for balanced budgets in response to the eurozone sovereign debt crisis, negotiators said.
The ECB opposed any weakening of a new fiscal pact that would require eurozone countries to rein in budget deficits, German daily Financial Times Deutschland reported on Friday, citing Joerg Asmussen, a member of the executive board. The ECB feared that the new agreement could wind up as weak as the prior stability pact.
European investors appeared prepared to bid local markets higher on Friday, with bunds and gilts tilting lower. The euro and oil futures were higher, with spot gold lower.
A local trader said that trade had been edged up at the open, however, investors would keep an eye on international markets going forward.
She said bond sales in the EU had generally helped markets out on Thursday. The rand level would be monitored by investors on Friday, along with PPI data from the UK.
At 09:15 local time, the JSE All Share [JSE:J203] index was up 0.21%. Platinums lifted 0.24%, while gold stocks lost 0.25% and resources were fairly flat (0.07%).
Industrials collected 0.30%, financials rose 0.25%, while banks garnered 0.16%.
The rand was bid at R8.02 to the dollar from R8.03 at the JSE's close on Friday. Gold traded at $1 647.11 a troy ounce from $1 662.11 at the JSE's previous close, while platinum was quoted at $1 489.53/oz, from $1 501.50/oz at the previous close.
Dow Jones Newswires reported that Asian stock markets were mostly higher on Friday due to news of successful debt auctions in Europe and as the European Central Bank's decision to leave interest rates unchanged suggested officials weren't overly worried about the health of the eurozone economy.
European states on Thursday reached an outline agreement on a pact to reinforce fiscal discipline that calls for balanced budgets in response to the eurozone sovereign debt crisis, negotiators said.
The ECB opposed any weakening of a new fiscal pact that would require eurozone countries to rein in budget deficits, German daily Financial Times Deutschland reported on Friday, citing Joerg Asmussen, a member of the executive board. The ECB feared that the new agreement could wind up as weak as the prior stability pact.
European investors appeared prepared to bid local markets higher on Friday, with bunds and gilts tilting lower. The euro and oil futures were higher, with spot gold lower.
