Johannesburg - The JSE was flat on Friday morning as the
market took a breather after a good trading week.
“The market has rallied a lot the last couple of days with
every second day a new high being reached‚” said Michael du Plooy‚ stockbroker
at PSG Konsult in Pretoria.
“The euro has been rallying the past two days‚ but the rand
has weakened again. It is very much a risk-on‚ risk-off market. As soon as the
US releases 'alrightish' economic figures‚ it becomes a risk-on market‚ and
foreign buying of our local shares follows. The bull market is very much a hot
and cold risk-on and risk-off market‚” he added.
At 9:42 the JSE All Share [JSE:J203] index was trading 0.08%
softer at 35‚715.33 points‚ with only gold miners showing some gains - up
0.75%.
World markets were trading in positive territory with the UK
FTSE 100 index up 0.28%‚ the Nikkei closing 0.77% higher and the Hang Seng
index last 0.86% higher.
Rand Merchant Bank said in a morning note that both Mario
Draghi and Angela Merkel have argued aggressively in support of the euro.
“This has helped global markets but we have reached a stage
where we need action rather than words. Equity markets continue to hit records
but the disconnect with high risk currencies remains‚” the bank said.
“The only thing on today’s data calendar is the US
University of Michigan Consumer Confidence Index. Yesterday’s third tier US
data continued to show a divergence between decent real sector numbers and
declining confidence. US Federal Reserve hawks have argued that this does not
justify quantitative easing (QE3) but the market remains hopeful‚” it added.
Among local movers were Lonmin [JSE:LON]‚ which shed R5.40‚
or 6.45%‚ to R78.30. More than 30 miners were shot dead by the police at the
Lonmin mine in Marikana in Rustenburg‚ Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa said on
Friday.
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