Johannesburg - The JSE remained softer at noon on Thursday amid some profit taking‚ and ahead of today’s futures closeout‚ which usually brings with it
volatility in share prices‚ and a spike in trading volumes.
Closeouts are the dates when futures contracts are settled‚ with players placing their bets on the market's future direction.
At 12:00 local time‚ the JSE All Share [JSE:J203] index was down 0.35% to 34 665.62 points‚ with resources losing 1.28%‚ but gold shares lifting 1.21% and
platinum counters dropping 0.92%.
Financials edged up 0.14%‚ while banking stocks and industrials were both flat (0.01%).
The rand was trading at 8.23 to the US dollar‚ from 8.18 at the JSE's close on Wednesday‚ while gold was quoted at $1 599.35 a troy ounce from $1 601.48/oz
at the JSE's previous close and platinum was at $1 459.50/oz‚ from $1 466.20/oz previously.
“One doesn’t want to read too much into this pullback given the strong run we have had over the past two days and this is notwithstanding China’s weak
manufacturing data‚ which continues to weigh on mining stocks‚” said Ferdi Heyneke‚ portfolio manager at Afrifocus Securities.
US stock-market futures pointed to a lower open for Wall Street as investors continued to express some disappointment that the Federal Reserve chose only to
extend its bond-buying programme‚ while weak China data also weighed on sentiment‚ Dow Jones Newswires reported.
Asia and European markets were weaker across the board‚ after China manufacturing activity dropped to a seven-month low‚ according to preliminary HSBC data.
A gauge of June business activity in the eurozone remained near the prior month's 35-month low‚ according to results of a preliminary Markit survey.
In Europe‚ London’s FTSE was down 0.45% at about noon local time.
In Asia‚ the Hang Seng index finished the session 1.30% lower.
volatility in share prices‚ and a spike in trading volumes.
Closeouts are the dates when futures contracts are settled‚ with players placing their bets on the market's future direction.
At 12:00 local time‚ the JSE All Share [JSE:J203] index was down 0.35% to 34 665.62 points‚ with resources losing 1.28%‚ but gold shares lifting 1.21% and
platinum counters dropping 0.92%.
Financials edged up 0.14%‚ while banking stocks and industrials were both flat (0.01%).
The rand was trading at 8.23 to the US dollar‚ from 8.18 at the JSE's close on Wednesday‚ while gold was quoted at $1 599.35 a troy ounce from $1 601.48/oz
at the JSE's previous close and platinum was at $1 459.50/oz‚ from $1 466.20/oz previously.
“One doesn’t want to read too much into this pullback given the strong run we have had over the past two days and this is notwithstanding China’s weak
manufacturing data‚ which continues to weigh on mining stocks‚” said Ferdi Heyneke‚ portfolio manager at Afrifocus Securities.
US stock-market futures pointed to a lower open for Wall Street as investors continued to express some disappointment that the Federal Reserve chose only to
extend its bond-buying programme‚ while weak China data also weighed on sentiment‚ Dow Jones Newswires reported.
Asia and European markets were weaker across the board‚ after China manufacturing activity dropped to a seven-month low‚ according to preliminary HSBC data.
A gauge of June business activity in the eurozone remained near the prior month's 35-month low‚ according to results of a preliminary Markit survey.
In Europe‚ London’s FTSE was down 0.45% at about noon local time.
In Asia‚ the Hang Seng index finished the session 1.30% lower.