JSE extends losses on risk aversion

Johannesburg - The JSE extended losses in midday trade on Thursday, with mining shares such as Anglo Gold Ashanti and Kumba Iron Ore coming under heavy selling pressure amid risk aversion, in line with global markets.

At 12:04 local time, the JSE All Share [JSE:J203] index was off 0.94% to 33 768.79 points, led down by platinum miners, which dropped 2.31%, gold miners slid 2.08%, while the resource index lost 1.57%.

Financials were down 0.87%, banks lost 1.32%, while industrials dipped 0.43%.

The rand weakened to 7.84 to the US dollar, from 7.72 at the JSE's close on Wednesday. Gold was quoted at $1 717.60 a troy ounce from $1 734.52/oz at the JSE's previous close, while platinum was at $1 613/oz, from $1 642/oz before.

"The selloff is based on uncertainty. The markets are grappling with the probability of the Greek bailout and the potential default, after the postponement of the EU finance ministers meeting on Wednesday," said Devin Shutte, equity derivatives trader at stockbrokerage Newstrading.

European stocks slumped on Thursday as investors faced another delay in securing Greece's second bailout and the prospect of further downgrades for the region's banks weighed on sentiment, Dow Jones Newswires reports.

London's FTSE 100 was down 0.66% to 5 853.52 points at about noon local time.

European bank shares took a hammering after Moody's Investors Service placed various ratings of 114 financial institutions in 16 European countries on review for possible downgrade, pointing to banks' vulnerability to the eurozone sovereign debt crisis.

Asian shares finished lower as investors fretted about the possibility of a messy Greek default, although Japanese shares found some support from a relatively weak yen.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index lost 0.4% to 21 277.28 points, the Shanghai Composite Index declined 0.4% to 2 356.86 points and Japan's Nikkei Stock Average declined 0.2% to 9 238.10 points.