JSE flat at noon, lacks direction

Johannesburg - The JSE remained flat at noon on Tuesday in line with global equity markets, following muted investor response to the Greek bailout package.

At 12:00, the JSE All Share [JSE:J203] index was up 0.15% to 34 155.67 points, led by resources which lifted 0.69%; gold miners gained 0.26%, while the platinum index shed 0.47%.

Financials slipped 0.25%, banks dipped 0.40%, while industrials edged down 0.11%.

The rand was at 7.70 to the US dollar, from 7.67 at the JSE's close on Monday. Gold was quoted at $1 740.04 a troy ounce from $1 732.92/oz at the JSE's previous close, while platinum was at $1 666.50/oz, from $1 647/oz before.

"Market players seem to be treating the Greek bailout package as another step in the process to resolving problems that have plagued the eurozone for some time now. The response thus far has been muted," said Devin Shutte, equity trader at stockbrokerage Newstrading.

European stocks fell into the red on Tuesday and investors remained cautious despite Greece managing to secure a rescue package totaling €130bn, Dow Jones Newswires reports.

Although Greece seems to be out of the woods for now many investors are concerned that the general election, expected in April, may bring in a government unwilling or unable to implement stringent austerity measures.

"The crisis marathon is not over," warned Carsten Brzeski, economist at ING Bank. "The combination of more austerity, social unrest and European impatience could become explosive, with a high risk that the Greek crisis could still derail."

London's FTSE 100 was down 0.18% to 5 934.47 at noon local time.

In Asia, Japan's Nikkei Stock Average finished 0.23% lower at 9 463.02 points, while China's Shanghai Composite Index finished flat.