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Johannesburg - The SA equity market rallied in late trade on Thursday‚ buoyed by better than expected US economic data.
At 5pm‚ the JSE All Share [JSE:J203] index ended 0.97% firmer at 36 498.44 points‚ with gold stocks lifting 1.20%‚ the banking index gaining 1.06% and industrials climbing 1.04%.
In precious metals‚ the spot price of gold was US$1 771.87 per ounce‚ up 0.61% from the previous close‚ while platinum lifted 1.38% to US$1 688 per ounce.
The US initial jobless claims fell by 30 000 to 339 000 last week‚ beating economists' expectations for 365 000 new applications.
“The (US) data has provided impetus as investors climbed back into the shares that were marked down aggressively this week‚” said Devin Shutte‚ a trader at stockbrokerage‚ Newstrading.
European shares extended gains in the afternoon‚ with London’s FTSE 100 gaining 1.04%‚ while the Dow Jones Industrial Average was last seen up 0.53%.
Among individual shares on the JSE‚ Harmony Gold was up 2.14% to R70.99 and ArcelorMittal rose 3.29% to R39.90.
Among industrial shares‚ Barloworld rallied 3.85% to R71.55 and Richemont surged 4.47% to R55.85‚ a new record for the counter.
Telecoms group MTN gained 2.42% to R159.
In the banking sector‚ Standard Bank was up 1.30% at R105.05.
Retailer The Foschini Group lifted 4.04% to R121.35.
