Johannesburg - The
JSE was a touch firmer in thin morning trade on Wednesday, in line with markets
in Asia, and follow on from the US.
A trader said that the JSE would continue to take its lead
from international counterparts, pausing at 10:00 local time to track SA
Consumer Price Index (CPI) data, before casting attention back abroad to US
economic data and company earnings later in the session.
By 09:10 local time, the JSE All Share [JSE:J203] index
gathered 0.21%. Gold added 0.85%, while platinum miners improved 0.74% and
resources gained 0.53%.
Banks were 0.10% higher, financials added 0.18%, but
industrials were flat (-0.01%).
The rand was bid at R7.96 to the dollar, from R8.04 at the
JSE's close on Monday. Gold traded at $1 648.97 a troy ounce from $1 637.98 /oz
at the JSE's previous close, while platinum was at $1 537/oz, from $1 522/oz
previously.
Dow Jones Newswires reported that European stock markets
were expected to open higher on Wednesday, following gains in the US and Asian
markets overnight after an unconfirmed press report suggested that Europe's key
bailout fund would be significantly expanded, but since its publication the
report had been called into question by officials and other news media.
Overnight on Wall Street, the market received a jolt higher
in the final hour of trading after the UK's Guardian newspaper cited
unidentified European Union diplomats as saying France and Germany had agreed
to add $2.47 trillion to the European Financial Stability Facility, with the
move to be announced this weekend.
The Guardian report, however, was soon followed by Dow Jones
Newswires reporting that European officials were still debating the size of the
eurozone's bailout fund, citing an official familiar with the negotiations.
The notion that an agreement had been reached to leverage the fund to €2
trillion was "totally wrong," the official said.
Still, Asian markets pushed up on the report early on
Wednesday, with Japan's Nikkei Stock Average rising 0.2%, Australia's
S&P/ASX 200 gaining 0.6% and South Korea's Kospi Composite adding 0.6%.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose 1.5% and India's Sensex advanced 1.6%.
Despite the expected positive start to Wednesday's session,
there was a large degree of caution in the air given how quickly sentiment
could turn. "Only on Monday were bulls quickly crushed as German officials
poured cold water on hopes for this weekend's European council summit,"
said Capital Spreads, adding that with markets jumping from headline to
headline, "traders are finding it increasingly difficult to stay with
positions, reducing their investment horizon to the next major rumour."
Adding to the caution, US earnings were causing a mixed
response amongst investors.