Publications
Partners
Johannesburg - The JSE was flat in early trade on Wednesday‚ with labour unrest and metal prices weighing on mining stocks while mild strength in industrial counters helped offset those falls.
At 9:20‚ the JSE All Share [JSE:J203] index was 0.02% softer at 40 702.16 points and the Top 40 - (Tradeable) [JSE:J200] index was 0.03% lower.
The gold index was the worst performer‚ shedding 3.15%‚ while the platinum index extended Tuesday’s 4.85% loss with a 0.58% fall in early trade on Wednesday.
The platinum sector is feeling the effect of a wildcat strike at Lonmin’s operations in Rustenburg.
A stronger dollar is putting pressure on the gold price‚ with spot gold quoted 1.02% softer at $1 412.49/oz. Platinum was 0.4% softer at $1 493/oz.
“The impromptu strike as Lonmin has hit market sentiment hard. Investors fear a spiral effect of strikes in the platinum sector‚ notably to the Amplats mines‚ and into the economy as a whole‚” Rand Merchant Bank said in a morning note.
European markets opened mostly softer after poor gross domestic product (GDP) data from eurozone heavyweights France and Germany led to some negative sentiment.
At 9:05 the UK FTSE 100 was 0.11% softer and in Paris the CAC 40 index was 0.24% weaker.
In Asia‚ yen weakness pushed the Nikkei average above 15‚000 points for the first time in more than five years‚ with Sony Corporation climbing after a proposal to spin off its entertainment business‚ Dow Jones Newswires reported.
The dollar pushed back above ¥102 overnight as more economic data from the US pointed towards a recovery in the world’s largest economy.
The yen’s overnight weakness pushed Japanese stocks to a fresh multiyear high‚ with the Nikkei ending 2.29% up at 15 096.03 points‚ marking the index's first rise above the 15 000 mark since January 4 2008.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 slid into negative territory after earlier hitting a fresh five-year high.
The index was last down 0.7% as mining stocks were hit due to weaker commodity prices.
Rio Tinto lost 2.9% and BHP Billiton retreated 2%.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index rose for the first time this week‚ up 0.4%‚ while the Shanghai composite index in mainland China remained subdued as the market continued to digest disappointing economic data from earlier in the week.
South Korea’s Kospi composite fell 0.1%.
On the JSE‚ Gold Fields (GFI) shed 4.69% to R57.14‚ Harmony lost 3.47% to R40.02 and AngloGold Ashanti (ANG) was 2.41% softer at R166.39.
Lonmin (LON)‚ the world’s third-biggest platinum producer‚ continued to fall‚ trading 1.72% weaker at R37.05‚ after plummeting more than 6% on Tuesday when a strike at the mine’s Rustenburg operations left all 13 shafts closed.
