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Johannesburg, May 16 (I-Net Bridge) - The JSE continued to fall in
midday trade on Wednesday as commodity prices dipped, pulling resource
shares lower.
At noon local time, the JSE All Share [JSE:J203] index was down 0.35% to 33 368.20 points, with resources falling 1.36%, platinum miners losing 1.37% and gold mining counters shedding 2.41%.
Financials were down 0.55%, banking stocks slipped 0.80%, but industrials rose 0.40%.
The rand was weaker at 8.37 to the US dollar, from 8.27 at the JSE's close on Tuesday, while gold was quoted at $1 534.55 a troy ounce from $1 552.41/oz at the JSE's previous close and platinum was at $1 424.20/oz, from $1 445/oz at the previous session.
"We are seeing a continued sell-off on the Greek problems, but we feel we are close to a bottom because we have lost some 700 points over the past week. At least we are not as badly down as Australia or Russia, whose stock exchanges are more exposed to commodities. Industrials in our case are providing some support," said Martin Strauss, market analyst at PSG Konsult.
Dow Jones Newswires reported that Asian markets tumbled on Wednesday due to worries that Greece was edging closer to an exit from the eurozone after week-long coalition talks failed to form a government, with Hong Kong leading the slide by falling 3.2%.
New Greek elections are expected in June with recent polls showing a surge in support for far-left party Syriza, which rejects austerity measures upon which the country's bailout is conditional. The anxiety led depositors to withdraw $898m from local banks on Monday, adding to worries about the health of the nation's banks.
Worries that a Greek exit may hurt other members of the eurozone and fears of easing demand from China pushed down commodities, contributing to a steep decline in Australia's largest mining companies. Oil dropped to a six-month low, falling 2.2% to $91.97 a barrel after a report showed that US crude supplies increased more than expected last week. Raw materials also fell. Copper was down 1.6% to $7,854 a ton and aluminum edged lower 0.1% to $1979.50 a ton.
Australia's S&P ASX 200 hit a two-month low, dropping 2.4% to 4,165.50. Japan's Nikkei fell below 8,800 for the first time since February 1, finishing the day down 1.1% at 8,801.17. Korea's Kospi dropped 3.1% to 1,840.53 and the China Shanghai SE Composite dropped 1.2% to 2,346.19.
Australian mining shares were sharply lower, pulling down the overall Australian index. Rio Tinto dropped 3.8% and BHP Billiton fell 4%, while Fortescue Mining Group sank 5.1%. Australian stocks were not helped by a low Australian dollar, which fell below parity against the dollar on Monday, trading 0.5% lower at 0.9888.
Capital outflow in Russia totaled $42 billion during the first four months of the year, Central Bank Chairman Sergei Ignatyev said on Wednesday. The chief reasons for the outflows include foreign investors fleeing Russian markets amid debt worries in the eurozone, Russian banks boosting their foreign assets, increased foreign direct investment by Russian companies and the purchase of foreign real estate by domestic investors, Ignatyev said. Russia saw $80.5 billion in capital outflows last year.
At noon local time, the JSE All Share [JSE:J203] index was down 0.35% to 33 368.20 points, with resources falling 1.36%, platinum miners losing 1.37% and gold mining counters shedding 2.41%.
Financials were down 0.55%, banking stocks slipped 0.80%, but industrials rose 0.40%.
The rand was weaker at 8.37 to the US dollar, from 8.27 at the JSE's close on Tuesday, while gold was quoted at $1 534.55 a troy ounce from $1 552.41/oz at the JSE's previous close and platinum was at $1 424.20/oz, from $1 445/oz at the previous session.
"We are seeing a continued sell-off on the Greek problems, but we feel we are close to a bottom because we have lost some 700 points over the past week. At least we are not as badly down as Australia or Russia, whose stock exchanges are more exposed to commodities. Industrials in our case are providing some support," said Martin Strauss, market analyst at PSG Konsult.
Dow Jones Newswires reported that Asian markets tumbled on Wednesday due to worries that Greece was edging closer to an exit from the eurozone after week-long coalition talks failed to form a government, with Hong Kong leading the slide by falling 3.2%.
New Greek elections are expected in June with recent polls showing a surge in support for far-left party Syriza, which rejects austerity measures upon which the country's bailout is conditional. The anxiety led depositors to withdraw $898m from local banks on Monday, adding to worries about the health of the nation's banks.
Worries that a Greek exit may hurt other members of the eurozone and fears of easing demand from China pushed down commodities, contributing to a steep decline in Australia's largest mining companies. Oil dropped to a six-month low, falling 2.2% to $91.97 a barrel after a report showed that US crude supplies increased more than expected last week. Raw materials also fell. Copper was down 1.6% to $7,854 a ton and aluminum edged lower 0.1% to $1979.50 a ton.
Australia's S&P ASX 200 hit a two-month low, dropping 2.4% to 4,165.50. Japan's Nikkei fell below 8,800 for the first time since February 1, finishing the day down 1.1% at 8,801.17. Korea's Kospi dropped 3.1% to 1,840.53 and the China Shanghai SE Composite dropped 1.2% to 2,346.19.
Australian mining shares were sharply lower, pulling down the overall Australian index. Rio Tinto dropped 3.8% and BHP Billiton fell 4%, while Fortescue Mining Group sank 5.1%. Australian stocks were not helped by a low Australian dollar, which fell below parity against the dollar on Monday, trading 0.5% lower at 0.9888.
Capital outflow in Russia totaled $42 billion during the first four months of the year, Central Bank Chairman Sergei Ignatyev said on Wednesday. The chief reasons for the outflows include foreign investors fleeing Russian markets amid debt worries in the eurozone, Russian banks boosting their foreign assets, increased foreign direct investment by Russian companies and the purchase of foreign real estate by domestic investors, Ignatyev said. Russia saw $80.5 billion in capital outflows last year.
