Johannesburg - The JSE struggled to find clear direction at
the opening on Wednesday‚ with escalating eurozone concerns weighing on market
sentiment.
“The overriding theme is still Europe‚ although we also had
disappointing second-quarter results from Apple‚ which added to the negative
undertone‚” said Ryan Wibberley‚ an equities dealer at Investec Asset
Management.
Market participants are still anxious that Spain might need
a full sovereign bail-out after one of its regions asked for financial help
last Friday. Meanwhile‚ there are also reports that Greece is likely to miss
its debt reduction target.
At 9:43‚ the All Share [JSE:J203] index was up 0.11% to
34‚037.30.
Big movers in the early session were Anglo Platinum
[JSE:AMS]‚ which gained R4.39‚ or 1.08%‚ to R412.50; Lonmin [JSE:LON]‚ which
lifted 95 cents‚ or 1.09%‚ to R88.45; and Harmony Gold Mining Company
[JSE:HAR]‚ which added 88 cents‚ or 1.16%‚ to R76.56.
Among industrials‚ British American Tobacco [JSE:BTI] lost
R5.08‚ or 1.16%‚ to R431.02. The company reported a 5% rise in basic headline
earnings per share to 98.8 pence for the six months ended June 2012‚ from 94.5
pence a year ago. The group declared an interim dividend of 42.2 pence – up 11%
on a year ago’s 38.1 pence.
Chemicals and explosives company AECI [JSE:AFE] was down R1.75‚
or 2.03%‚ to R84.50. The company reported a decline in diluted headline
earnings per share to 103 cents for the six months ended June 201‚ from 264
cents a year ago‚ as HEPS were affected by an empowerment transaction.