Johannesburg - The JSE came off its
session highs at noon‚ with a continued sell-off in Harmony Gold
Mining Company
[JSE:HAR] stock weighing on the gold index after SA’s
third-largest gold producer last week posted results that fell below
analysts’ estimates.
Lonmin [JSE:LON] resumed its slide as
the standoff at its Marikana mine weighed heavily on the share price.
The stage is set for possibly more
drama today at the mine where up to 3‚000 striking workers have
until close of business to abandon their wage strike and return to
work.
“There remains a bullish undertone to
markets for now as we continue to squeeze out small gains. However‚
accompanying volumes continue to be significantly lower‚” said
Shaun Murison‚ market analyst at IG Markets SA. “Real commitment
to a market move will become evident when we see strong volume
accompanying direction‚ either way.
European shares were generally higher
at noon‚ while their Asian counterparts were fairly mixed by the
close of trade‚ in the absence of no real catalysts.
“The minutes from the last Fed
meeting‚ due on Wednesday‚ will provide us with more hints of how
close we are to seeing QE3 — or some other form of monetary
stimulus‚” said RMB in a note. “The Greek prime minister will
meet his French and German counterparts on Friday where a step closer
or further away from a eurozone exit will be taken.”
At 12:45 the JSE all share index was
0.24% higher at 35 631.59 points‚ with gold miners down 1.22%.
Harmony lost R2.70‚ or 3.36%‚ to
R77.66 and Lonmin shed R3.26‚ or 3.91%‚ to R80.04.
MTN Group [JSE:MTN] lifted 3.14‚ or
2.06%‚ to R155.89.
Among retailers‚ Shoprite Holdings Limited [JSE:SHP]
recovered R3.15‚ or 2.05%‚ to R157.15 and Woolworths Holdings [JSE:WHL]
gained R1.14 or 2.09%‚ to R55.80.
*Follow Fin24 on Twitter, Facebook and
Google+.