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Johannesburg - The JSE reversed earlier gains and languished in negative territory at noon on Tuesday, with investors looking for direction.
David Shapiro, market watcher with Sasfin, said the morning session's gains were muted. "There is no real momentum behind the market," Shapiro said, adding that there is neither corporate news nor economic data to give the market direction.
By 12:08 local time the JSE all share index was slightly lower 0.12%, with resources falling 0.18%, platinum miners dropping 0.15% and gold miners shedding 0.69%. Financials (-0.03%) and banks (-0.07%) were virtually unchanged, while industrials lost 0.11%.
The rand was bid at 6.65 to the dollar from 6.74 at the JSE's close on Friday. Gold was quoted at US$1 393.83 a troy ounce from US$1 383.50/oz at the JSE's previous close, while platinum was at $1 748.50/oz from $1 728.00/oz before.
Shapiro said trade is generally exceptionally light between Christmas and New Year. Few market participants are at work.
There is no fresh news except an unexpected interest rate hike in China over the holiday weekend and cold weather in the US, which put the chill on Christmas shopping, Shapiro said.
Dow Jones Newswires reported that Asian stock markets were generally weaker on Tuesday with the Japanese market weighed by profit-taking while securities firms fell in China as investors fretted over the possibility of further monetary tightening measures from Beijing.
"It seems quite clear that China has entered a cycle of interest rate hikes and that's going to put regional and global stock markets under some pressure in the near term, but the latest move (from Beijing) had been widely anticipated and I don't expect investors to overreact," said Choi Keun-Hwan, a senior currency dealer at Busan Bank in Seoul.
Japan's Nikkei Stock Average was down 0.61%, and in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng was 0.93% weaker.
