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Johannesburg - The JSE tracked global stocks
higher at midday on Thursday ahead of futures closeout later and amid
some positive news out of Europe.
"US futures are pointing towards a strong open in the US markets. Asia and Europe are all stronger so we're tracking international markets quite closely as we have been over the past few days," a local trader noted.
She added that the rand was weaker, which helped strengthen resource stocks.
By 12:06 local time, the JSE All Share [JSE:J203] index had risen 1.60% to 30 948.29 points. Resources garnered 2.39%, and platinum miners lifted 2.00% higher. Industrials rose 1.34%, gold was up 1.32%, and financials added 0.88%. Banks were up 0.56%.
The rand was bid at 7.42 to the dollar, from 7.38 at the JSE's close on Wednesday. Gold was trading at $1 810.88 a troy ounce from $1 823.40 at the JSE's previous close, while platinum was at $1 802/oz, from $1 813.50/oz previously.
Dow Jones Newswires reported that European stocks pushed higher on Thursday as investors reacted positively to signs that the European leaders may finally be getting to grips with the severity of the situation surrounding the peripheral eurozone countries, and Greece in particular.
"Investors seem more reassured by the latest message via France and Germany that those nations are committed to keeping Greece in the eurozone and avoiding default," said Altium Securities. "Those interpretations can change very quickly and there was nothing regarding firm new policy actions but, for now, that was enough to send the US indexes ahead by around 1.3%, followed by similar gains across Asia, which set up a decent start in Europe."
Still, continued gains were not guaranteed and traders cautioned that bullish words from European leaders were not enough to stave off the possibility of a Greek default.
At 11:51 local time, London's FTSE 100 advanced 1.5% to 5306.70. The Stoxx Europe 600 index was earlier 1.4% higher at 227.38, Frankfurt's DAX gained 2.0% to 5447.50, while France's CAC-40 added 1.7% to 2999.43.
"US futures are pointing towards a strong open in the US markets. Asia and Europe are all stronger so we're tracking international markets quite closely as we have been over the past few days," a local trader noted.
She added that the rand was weaker, which helped strengthen resource stocks.
By 12:06 local time, the JSE All Share [JSE:J203] index had risen 1.60% to 30 948.29 points. Resources garnered 2.39%, and platinum miners lifted 2.00% higher. Industrials rose 1.34%, gold was up 1.32%, and financials added 0.88%. Banks were up 0.56%.
The rand was bid at 7.42 to the dollar, from 7.38 at the JSE's close on Wednesday. Gold was trading at $1 810.88 a troy ounce from $1 823.40 at the JSE's previous close, while platinum was at $1 802/oz, from $1 813.50/oz previously.
Dow Jones Newswires reported that European stocks pushed higher on Thursday as investors reacted positively to signs that the European leaders may finally be getting to grips with the severity of the situation surrounding the peripheral eurozone countries, and Greece in particular.
"Investors seem more reassured by the latest message via France and Germany that those nations are committed to keeping Greece in the eurozone and avoiding default," said Altium Securities. "Those interpretations can change very quickly and there was nothing regarding firm new policy actions but, for now, that was enough to send the US indexes ahead by around 1.3%, followed by similar gains across Asia, which set up a decent start in Europe."
Still, continued gains were not guaranteed and traders cautioned that bullish words from European leaders were not enough to stave off the possibility of a Greek default.
At 11:51 local time, London's FTSE 100 advanced 1.5% to 5306.70. The Stoxx Europe 600 index was earlier 1.4% higher at 227.38, Frankfurt's DAX gained 2.0% to 5447.50, while France's CAC-40 added 1.7% to 2999.43.
