Johannesburg - The JSE was mildly positive at the start of
trading on Tuesday‚ tracking leading European bourses‚ although investor
concerns over elevated Spanish bond yields capped the gains.
At 09:23 local time‚ the JSE All Share [JSE:J203] index was
up 0.15% to 34‚491.69 points‚ with gold shares lifting 1.33%‚ while resources
were flat (-0.1%) and platinum counters lost 0.31%.
Financials were up 0.18%‚ banking stocks rose 0.35% and
industrials were 0.23% in the black.
The rand was trading at R8.28 to the US dollar‚ from R8.34
at the JSE's close on Monday‚ while gold was quoted at $1 631.74 a troy ounce
from $1 622.95/oz at the JSE's previous close and platinum was at $1 490.20/oz‚
from $1 483.20/oz previously.
Viv Govender‚ market analyst at Vunani Private Clients‚
said:” The commitment by G20 countries to channel resources to the
International Monentary Fund was helping market sentiment.”
At the G20 summit in Cannes‚ world leaders agreed to
increase the resources of the IMF so that it could serve as a backstop in the
event of further deterioration in the eurozone situation.
Along with fellow members of the G20‚ SA announced in Los
Cabos yesterday that it had committed to supporting the IMFs firewall fund‚ and
would be investing $2bn of its reserves towards this effort.
Asian shares posted losses as investors shifted their
attention back to Spain's financial woes‚ overriding Monday's post-election
cheer from the Greek election results.
Borrowing costs in Spain surged with yields hitting 7.13% on
10-year Spanish government bonds on Monday‚ exceeding the 7% point at which
other troubled European countries - Greece‚ Portugal and Ireland - lost access
to the debt markets‚ Dow Jones Newswires reported.
Japan's Nikkei ended 0.75% lower at the close with the Hang
Seng index down 0.22% at 09:08 local time; at the same time in Europe‚ London’s
FTSE was up 0.57%.