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Johannesburg - The JSE started weaker on Thursday, with the
market looking bleak following the US Federal Reserve's meeting yesterday. The
Greek debt crisis was still a concern for investors, a local trader said.
By 09:17 local time on Thursday, the JSE All Share
[JSE:J203] index was down 0.74%, with resources sliding 1.39%, platinum miners
falling 0.39% and gold miners dropping 0.84%. Banks also lost 0.64%, financials
were 0.58% lower and industrials shed 0.27%.
The rand was last bid at R6.77 to the dollar from R6.72 at
the JSE's close on Wednesday. Gold was quoted at $1 544.62 a troy ounce from $1
556.76/oz at the JSE's previous close, while platinum was at $1 730.50/oz, from
$1 752.50/oz previously.
The local trader said the local bourse had another weak
start to the day as the mood was looking bleak, citing Greece as one source of
worry. She also noted that the market did not like the fact that the US Federal
Reserve did not announce any concrete plans to boost growth and jobs even as it
lowered its growth forecast.
Dow Jones Newswires reported that Asian stock markets were
mostly down on Thursday after the Federal Reserve's downbeat assessment of the
US economy, while a further slowing in China's manufacturing activity in June
added to the global growth concerns.
Japan's Nikkei Stock Average closed down 0.34%, while Hong
Kong's Hang Seng Index was last trading 0.42% lower.
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were down 25 points in
screen trade.
Regional sentiment was subdued after the Federal Reserve downgraded its assessment of the US economy's performance on Wednesday, and its chairperson, Ben Bernanke, gave no indication the central bank intended to take new steps to boost growth and jobs.
In China, the preliminary HSBC China Manufacturing
Purchasing Managers Index, a gauge of nationwide manufacturing activity, fell
to an 11-month low of 50.1 in June from a final reading of 51.6 in May.
The slowdown supported recent evidence that China's tightening measures this year were crimping growth, although the Shanghai stock market turned positive as the weak manufacturing activity was widely anticipated.
