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JSE gains on Greek deal

Johannesburg - South African stocks edged up 0.15% on Tuesday, with some gold firms such as Harmony and banks ticking higher after the long-awaited Greek bailout deal soothed concerns about a default in the eurozone.

Shares of Shoprite rose 1.4% to R134.50 after the retailer reported a 19% rise in first-half profit, underpinned by recovering consumer demand in Africa’s top economy.

After months of stalled negotiations, the Greek deal came as a relief to equity markets, traders said, but that was not enough to push stock prices substantially higher.

“There is going to have to be a catalyst for further upside. The bailout was good and it was a necessary step on the path to European recovery,” said Devin Shutte, a trader at brokerage Newstrading.

“But the markets are still looking at the hard reality that the eurozone is facing an extended period of lower growth.”

The Top 40 - (Tradeable) [JSE:J200] index rose 0.15% to 30 438.34.

The broader All Share [JSE:J203] index added 0.11% to 34 142.37.

After 13 hours of talks, eurozone ministers finalised a €130bn deal for Greece in the early hours of Tuesday morning by forcing Athens to commit to unpopular budget cutbacks and private bondholders to accept deeper losses on their holdings.

The Greek deal helped put gold on course for its largest daily rally in two weeks, sending shares of South African miners up as well.

Harmony Gold, South Africa’s third-largest bullion producer, rose 1.3% to R99.01.

Bigger rival AngloGold Ashanti rose 0.22% to R329.31.

FirstRand, South Africa’s second-largest bank by assets, gained 0.5% to R23.02.

Among decliners, mobile operator Vodacom fell 1% to R101.80.

Trade was relatively thin, with 185 million shares changing hands on the Johannesburg exchange compared with last year’s daily average of 256 million shares.

Advancers beat decliners 145 to 132.
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Rand - Dollar
18.90
+0.2%
Rand - Pound
23.86
+0.2%
Rand - Euro
20.36
+0.3%
Rand - Aus dollar
12.31
+0.3%
Rand - Yen
0.12
+0.2%
Platinum
908.05
0.0%
Palladium
1,014.94
0.0%
Gold
2,232.75
-0.0%
Silver
24.95
-0.1%
Brent Crude
87.00
+1.8%
Top 40
68,346
0.0%
All Share
74,536
0.0%
Resource 10
57,251
0.0%
Industrial 25
103,936
0.0%
Financial 15
16,502
0.0%
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