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JSE moves sideways as Easter approaches

Johannesburg -With the JSE going mostly sideways on Thursday morning, it seems investors are waiting for the Easter weekend to begin. The market will be closed on Friday and Monday.

The only bit of action was in the gold sector with the beleaguered Gold index making a turnaround on Thursday morning, after the gold price rebounded sharply on Wednesday afternoon as some disappointing US economic data dented the dollar.

By midday the All-share index was only 0.05% lower at 52 255 points and the Top 40-index dropped 0.13% to 46 069 points.

The same pattern of the past few days continued, with the Industrial index rising 0.18% but the Resources index losing another 1.36%. The Financial index was 0.39% higher, with Capitec [JSE:CPI] and FirstRand [JSE:FSR] again reaching new highs.

The Gold index was however 2.76% higher after the gold price recovered on Wednesday afternoon to above $1 200 per ounce. The gold price lost some momentum on Thursday morning and traded lower, but was still above $1 200 per ounce.

The turnaround in the gold price was the result of pressure on the dollar, after the latest disappointing US economic data indicated that a rise in interest rates is not as imminent as some investors would like to think. A rate rise tends to strengthen the dollar.

On Wednesday, data showed US construction spending dipped in February, while growth in the manufacturing sector slowed for the fifth straight month in March.

Adding to the gloom, a report from payrolls firm ADP showed a slump in business hiring in March, ahead of Friday's closely-watched government labour report for the same month.

Wall Street was also lower for the second consecutive day, as investors are getting concerned about economic growth. Investors are now waiting for the latest US jobs data which will be published on Friday.

Among the gold shares, Harmony [JSE:HAR] normally shows the most marked reaction to the gold price and Thursday morning was no exception. The share price gained 4.76% by midday to R23.12 after being more than 6% higher earlier in the day. The stock opened at R23.48 and traded as high as R23.47.

Despite the sharp rise, Harmony was still 1.56% lower for the past seven days and 20.9% for the past 30 days.

AngloGold Ashanti [JSE:ANG] was 2.30% stronger at R116.17 but was still 4.33% softer for the past week and 17.67% lower for the past month.

In the industrial sector, Naspers [JSE:NPN] opened at a new record of R1 908.94 on Thursday morning, compared to Wednesday’s record close of R1 880, but the share price could not maintain the momentum. By midday it was 0.13% softer at R1 877.50.

Steinhoff [JSE:SHF], which gained more than 36% this year, was only 2c higher at a new high of R76.30.

MTN [JSE:MTN], which strengthened by more than 6% on Wednesday on the back of the successful election in Nigeria, gained another 1.38% to R220.00.

In the financial sector Capitec and FirstRand again set new records. Capitec traded 1.21% higher at R541.49 and FirstRand was 0.98% higher at R56.53.

In the resources sector, Anglo American [JSE:AGL] dropped 1.62% to another 52-week low of R178.38 and Kumba [JSE:KIO] was 3.63% lower at a low of R143.30. The share has lost more than 12% over the last seven days.

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Rand - Dollar
18.94
-0.2%
Rand - Pound
23.90
-0.0%
Rand - Euro
20.43
+0.2%
Rand - Aus dollar
12.34
+0.1%
Rand - Yen
0.13
-0.1%
Platinum
908.50
+1.3%
Palladium
1,017.25
+1.5%
Gold
2,221.02
+1.2%
Silver
24.85
+0.9%
Brent Crude
86.09
-0.2%
Top 40
68,346
+1.0%
All Share
74,536
+0.8%
Resource 10
57,251
+2.8%
Industrial 25
103,936
+0.6%
Financial 15
16,502
-0.1%
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