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Johannesburg - The JSE opened little changed on Thursday, with resource counters ensuring that the local bourse retains a positive bias. A trader said volumes remained light as a result of the holiday season.
On the international front, Asian markets were weaker, while US futures were slightly better. European equities are expected to open lower.
By 09:28 local time the JSE all share index was up 0.16%, with resources gaining 0.28% and platinum miners adding 0.89%. But gold miners shed 0.13%. Financials declined 0.15% and banks lost 0.18%, but industrials rose 0.21%.
The rand was bid at R6.60 to the dollar from R6.64 at the JSE's close on Wednesday. Gold was quoted at $1 411.90 a troy ounce from $1 408.47/oz at the JSE's previous close, while platinum was at $1 768.20/oz from $1 746.50/oz before.
A trader said the rand was strong, but metal prices remained firmer, supporting resource equities.
The rand hit a new three year best level on Thursday morning as it traded below R6.60 to the US dollar. "The dollar-rand is carrying on its strength and some panicky exporters are selling dollars before the end of the year," a local currency trader said.
Dow Jones Newswires reports that Asian stock markets were mostly lower on Thursday, as exporters dragged Tokyo lower and miners lifted Sydney.
Japan's Nikkei Stock Average was up 0.50%, and in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng was last 1.15% firmer.
The Japanese stock market was weighed by exporters, which were dragged down by the yen's recent strength.
"Today's trading is symbolic of the entire year, dominated by selling on a stronger yen," said Norihiro Fujito, a senior investment strategist at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities.
European stock markets are likely to start a bit lower on Thursday as investors lighten up on positions before the year ends, while eurozone issues continue to cause concern.
"We had a little bit of an interruption (Wednesday) when data from the European Central Bank showed that loans to households and companies grew at a faster-than-expected rate in October," said Heino Ruland, strategist at Ruland Research.
"That and M3 created a bit of concern that there could be the start of an inflation issue. It's easy to have a bit of volatility on a day when trading is so thin. It remains a very quiet session and most people are at home," he added.
