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Johannesburg - The JSE was in positive territory at midday on Tuesday, supported by a strong rally in resources as political concerns in Egypt wane and investors shift attention to recent indicators of improving economic growth in Europe and the US.
By 12:01 local time, the JSE all share index had added 1.02%, with resources leading with a 1.93% gain. Platinum miners were 1.53% higher, while industrials gained 0.47% and gold miners were up 0.52%. Financials advanced 0.31% and banks added 0.15%.
The rand was bid at 7.11 to the dollar, from 7.15 at the JSE's close on Monday. Gold was quoted at US$1 336.19 a troy ounce from US$1 328.30/oz at the JSE's previous close, while platinum was at $1 807/oz from $1 780.50/oz before.
A local trader said there had been a strong sell-off during the last couple of days and that "we're staging a rebound".
He said concerns over Egypt had eased and sentiment remained fragile.
"Also, we're coming to the end of the earnings season in the US," he noted.
Dow Jones Newswires has reported that European stocks opened higher on Tuesday, with investors re-evaluating the effect of political protests in Egypt and elsewhere in north Africa and the Middle East and focusing instead on recent indicators of improving economic growth in Europe and the US.
At 09:00 GMT, the Stoxx Europe 600 index was 0.5% higher at 281.36, London's FTSE 100 index was up 0.4% at 5 886.46, the CAC-40 index in Paris advanced 0.6% at 4 029.75, while the DAX index in Frankfurt gained 0.6% at 7 123.04.
"It's as though Egypt isn't seen as that important in the money markets," said Clive Lennox of Clear Currency, a foreign exchange broker.
Instead, analysts are focusing on recent data, which - despite some notable disappointments such as UK fourth-quarter GDP - indicate that Europe is established on the road to economic growth.
"It looks like we're heading in the right direction" in terms of economic growth, said Lennox. "The optimism is there."
Earlier, data showed Germany's labour market strongly rebounded in January, propelled by the country's economic upswing.
The number of people unemployed declined by 13 000 when adjusted for seasonal swings, after increasing by a revised 1 000 in December, the Federal Labor Office said. Still to come at 10:00 GMT is euro-zone
unemployment, and at 15:00 GMT is the ISM manufacturing release in the US.
In Asia overnight, stock markets edged mostly higher, as worries about the unrest in Egypt receded. Japan's Nikkei Stock Average closed up 0.4%, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 ended just 1.8 points lower, South Korea's Kospi Composite just 2.3 points higher, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index largely flat. China's Shanghai Composite closed 0.3% higher.
In the US, Monday stocks rose in the final session of the strongest January in years, sloughing off worries over the unrest in Egypt as investors took heart that the Suez Canal was still open.
A better-than-expected round of US economic data also helped bolster the market.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 68.23 points, or 0.6%, to 11 891.93.
The Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 13.19 points, or 0.5%, to 2 700.08. The Standard & Poor's 500 stock index added 9.78, or 0.8%, to 1 286.12. In foreign exchange markets, improved risk appetite and the growing view that the European Central Bank may hike interest rates to curb inflation helped support the euro.
