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Johannesburg - The JSE was marginally down in morning trade
on Wednesday after hitting a fresh all-time high during the course of
yesterday.
Markets will on Wednesday be looking for some guidance from
the US Federal Open Market Committee’s minutes from the latest US Federal
Reserve meeting for some hints about the possibility of more monetary easing
measures.
At 9:39am the JSE All Share [JSE:J203] index was down 0.44%
to 35‚676.34 points.
World markets were also in negative territory‚ with Asia
down and the FTSE 100 last seen down 0.81%.
“The rand is weaker against the dollar this morning and is
moving in tandem with equities‚” said Kevin Algeo‚ portfolio manager at Imara
SP Reid.
Some big companies released results on Wednesday. These
included diversified resources company BHP Billiton [JSE:BIL] reporting basic
earnings per share of 289.6 US cents for the year ended June 2012‚ down 32.5%
from 429.1 cents a year ago; this had a negative affect on the JSE. At 9:39am
BHP Billiton was down R3.59‚ or 1.40%‚ at R253.61.
“BHP Billiton makes up 7% of the total market capitalisation
of the JSE. Massmart’s results were slightly disappointing; Imperial’s results
were in line with their guidance and Grindrod’s results slightly better than
expected‚” he said.
Massmart Holdings [JSE:MSM] reported a 34.4% rise in diluted
headline earnings per share to 552.3 cents for the 52 weeks ended June 24 2012
from 410.8 cents a year ago. At 9.39am Massmart was trading 43c softer at
R168.57.
Imperial Holdings [JSE:IPL] reported a 14% rise in headline
earnings per share to 1‚566 cents for the year ended June 2012. The counter was
trading R1.58 stronger at R195.68.
Grindrod [JSE:GND] reported a 25% increase in headline
earnings per share to 69.4 cents for the six months ended June 2012 from 55.7
cents a year ago. The counter was trading 29c stronger at R13.89.
Rand Merchant Bank said in a morning note that Tuesday’s
optimism looked set to unwind on Wednesday. “The dollar/rand has pushed off its
R8.22 low and risks edging to R8.30. The euro/rand is already testing a
multi-week high at R10.30. The swings are due to the eurozone. The mood was
hyped yesterday due to expectations that the European Central Bank was planning
a massive bond buying programme. Some rationality is returning today‚” the bank
said.
“The Lonmin Marikana mine shooting is still receiving negative press internationally. Foreigners‚ have been buying back into our equities and bonds so the negative market impact is fading‚” it added.
