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Johannesburg - The JSE edged up in the opening session on Monday‚ led by gold shares.
A quiet and choppy session is expected due to public holidays in the UK and US.
At 9:36‚ the JSE All Share [JSE:J203] index was up 0.27% to 41 110.74 points‚ with the blue-chip Top 40 - (Tradeable) [JSE:J200] index gaining 0.3% to 36 553.15 points.
“It will be interesting to see if the strength in the all-share index in May so far can continue. June has typically been our stock market’s worst month. Certainly the US market has held onto its gains admirably so far‚ as have the European markets - and they tend to lead our market‚” said Paul Hansen‚ portfolio manager at Stanlib.
Leading European share markets were marginally firmer in early trade‚ with Paris’s CAC 40 index notching up 0.76% while Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 3.22% in what dealers attributed to yen/dollar strength.
Uncertainty is the new big theme globally‚ RMB analysts said in a note. “Last week’s ambiguous comments by Fed chairman Ben Bernanke have left everyone uncertain over when QE (quantitative easing) is likely to taper off. Chinese data have created fear of a renewed economic deceleration. And Japan’s ‘Abenomics’ is being tested by the markets through a yen and bond yield surge.”
Among individual shares on the JSE‚ Northam Platinum (NHM) shed 1.38% to R32.83 but Sibanye Gold (SGL) lifted 2.7% to R7.61.
Richemont (CFR) gained 1.47% to R89.14 and Capitec lost 2.17% to R192.99.
