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JSE positive at noon trade

Johannesburg - The JSE was positive at noon on the back of news that an agreement in the US on its debt ceiling had been made.

A local trader said that the news is expected to keep things positive for the week.

By 11:55 local time, the JSE All Share [JSE:J203] index was up 0.67%, with banks taking 1.06%, resources gaining 1.03%, financials up 0.73%, platinum miners picking up 0.48%, and industrials advancing 0.40%. Gold miners lost 0.31%.

The rand was bid at 6.66 to the dollar, from 6.70 at the JSE's close on Friday. Gold was quoted at US$1 615.65 a troy ounce from US$1 627.16/oz at the JSE's previous close, while platinum was at US$1 798.50/oz, from US$1 784.50/oz previously.

Dow Jones newswires reported that European stocks posted strong gains Monday, as investors sought comfort in an agreement between President Obama and US Congressional leaders to raise the debt ceiling, although traders warned this may be no more than a relief rally, with many hurdles still to be cleared.

President Obama said late on Sunday that Republican and Democratic leaders have reached an agreement to raise the debt ceiling by US$2.4 trillion in two stages, while cutting spending by around US$2.7 trillion over 10 years.

Despite the gains, traders highlighted the fact that the deal still needs to be passed by the Senate and the House of Representatives, and may not be enough to stave off a downgrade from the credit ratings agencies.

Lloyds Bank Corporate Markets said that if passed, the plan "will avoid a technical default but will fail to keep the downgrade talks off the radar." It expects the possibility of a credit-rating downgrade to linger on "as the US goes the European way by avoiding difficult decisions and focuses on short-term solutions with temporary fixes."

The framework plan will be voted on Monday at the earliest, when the Senate and House of Representatives are due to meet to hash out the details.

In Asia, shares rallied on Monday following confirmation of a deal to raise the US debt ceiling, though shares in China underperformed after China's official Purchasing Managers Index declined for the fourth consecutive month in July.

Japan's Nikkei Stock Average closed up 1.34% and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index finished 0.99%.

At local time, London's FTSE 100 was up 1.28%, and Paris's CAC-40 was 1.07% higher.


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Rand - Dollar
18.88
+0.3%
Rand - Pound
23.87
+0.2%
Rand - Euro
20.39
+0.2%
Rand - Aus dollar
12.33
+0.1%
Rand - Yen
0.12
+0.2%
Platinum
908.05
0.0%
Palladium
1,014.94
0.0%
Gold
2,232.75
-0.0%
Silver
24.95
-0.1%
Brent Crude
87.00
+1.8%
Top 40
68,346
0.0%
All Share
74,536
0.0%
Resource 10
57,251
0.0%
Industrial 25
103,936
0.0%
Financial 15
16,502
0.0%
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