JSE holds firm, volumes light

Johannesburg - The JSE held on to gains at noon on Monday amid relatively low volumes due to public a holiday in the United States.

At 12:00 local time, the JSE All Share [JSE:J203] index was up 0.33% to 34 196.90 points, led by platinum miners, which lifted 0.65%, but gold miners shed 1%, while the resource index lifted 0.51%.

Financials were up 0.28%, banks gained 0.39%, while industrials firmed 0.25%.

The rand was at 7.67 to the US dollar, from 7.73 at the JSE's close on Friday. Gold was quoted at $1 732.33 a troy ounce from $1 722.55/oz at the JSE's previous close, while platinum was at $1 648.96/oz, from $1 631/oz before.

"The Chinese decision to free up capital has boosted the resources sector, and general market sentiment," said Nick Kunze, head of dealing at BJM Private Client Services.

European stocks were up on Monday, led higher by basic resources stocks after China's central bank eased policy over the weekend which is expected to heighten demand for commodities, while there were cautious expectations that Greece will finally receive its second bailout following a meeting of finance leaders later on Monday, Dow Jones Newswires reports.

London's FTSE 100 was up 0.71% at 5 947.07 points at noon local time.

The People's Bank of China said it would cut its reserve requirement ratio (RRR) by 50 basis points, effective from February 24, which should increase demand for commodities. This is the second RRR cut in three months.

Meanwhile, eurozone finance ministers are scheduled to meet in Brussels to discuss the implementation of Greece's rescue package. The deal is widely expected to be signed off.

Asian shares ended higher, with the Nikkei Stock Average jumping 1.1% to 9,485.09 points in Tokyo and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index dropping 0.3% to 21 424.79 points.