Publications
Partners
Johannesburg - The JSE stayed firmly in positive territory at noon on Thursday, with local investors continuing to regain composure despite lingering global worries.
By 12:02 local time, the All Share [JSE:J203] was up 0.88%, with gold counters climbing 2.50%, resources gaining 1.25% and platinum miners rising 1.16%. Industrials rose 0.66%, financials were up 0.29% and banks added 0.10%.
The rand was bid at 6.9258 to the dollar from 6.9414 at the JSE's close on Wednesday. Gold was quoted at US$1 439.98 a troy ounce from US$1 440.27/oz at the JSE's previous close, while platinum was at $1 757.50/oz from $1 748.00/oz before.
Mpho Mojalefa, a trader at BJM Private Client Services, said the market experienced a massive sell-off in the past few sessions.
"The market was oversold and it had priced in a lot of bad news. Now calm is returning," Mojalefa said, pointing to the Japanese crisis, Libyan developments and euro-zone debt concerns.
But he warned that "we are not out of the woods yet".
Dow Jones Newswires reported that European stock markets pushed higher on Thursday, as retail, resource and chemical stocks all gained on upbeat corporate news.
This helped to offset some of the uncertainties surrounding the situation in the Middle East and north Africa, and Portugal's economic outlook after its government rejected austerity measures late on Wednesday.
By 09:17 GMT, the benchmark Stoxx Europe 600 index was up 0.3% at 273.86. London's FTSE 100 index was 0.5% higher at 5 825.17, Frankfurt's DAX index was up 0.6% at 6 847.34, and Paris's CAC-40 index was 0.3% higher at 3 925.32.
Retailers pushed higher on well-received earnings from two UK heavyweights. Shares in Kingfisher rose 5.8%, after it reported an increase in full year pretax profit. Next gained 6.4% after reporting full-year earnings in line with expectations, boosted by its directory business, although the group cautioned that the consumer environment was tough and sales were being hit by rising prices.
By 12:02 local time, the All Share [JSE:J203] was up 0.88%, with gold counters climbing 2.50%, resources gaining 1.25% and platinum miners rising 1.16%. Industrials rose 0.66%, financials were up 0.29% and banks added 0.10%.
The rand was bid at 6.9258 to the dollar from 6.9414 at the JSE's close on Wednesday. Gold was quoted at US$1 439.98 a troy ounce from US$1 440.27/oz at the JSE's previous close, while platinum was at $1 757.50/oz from $1 748.00/oz before.
Mpho Mojalefa, a trader at BJM Private Client Services, said the market experienced a massive sell-off in the past few sessions.
"The market was oversold and it had priced in a lot of bad news. Now calm is returning," Mojalefa said, pointing to the Japanese crisis, Libyan developments and euro-zone debt concerns.
But he warned that "we are not out of the woods yet".
Dow Jones Newswires reported that European stock markets pushed higher on Thursday, as retail, resource and chemical stocks all gained on upbeat corporate news.
This helped to offset some of the uncertainties surrounding the situation in the Middle East and north Africa, and Portugal's economic outlook after its government rejected austerity measures late on Wednesday.
By 09:17 GMT, the benchmark Stoxx Europe 600 index was up 0.3% at 273.86. London's FTSE 100 index was 0.5% higher at 5 825.17, Frankfurt's DAX index was up 0.6% at 6 847.34, and Paris's CAC-40 index was 0.3% higher at 3 925.32.
Retailers pushed higher on well-received earnings from two UK heavyweights. Shares in Kingfisher rose 5.8%, after it reported an increase in full year pretax profit. Next gained 6.4% after reporting full-year earnings in line with expectations, boosted by its directory business, although the group cautioned that the consumer environment was tough and sales were being hit by rising prices.
