Johannesburg - The JSE kicked off a new month on a downbeat
note on Monday‚ after the all share index added more than 2% last month to
close at a fresh record peak on Friday‚ led by industrial stocks.
At 9:36am‚ the All Share [JSE:J203] index was down 0.32% at
37‚984.49 points‚ with the Top 40 - (Tradeable) [JSE:J200] index slipping
0.39%. Gold stocks led the downside‚ dropping 1.19%.
“It is a cautious start to the session after reaching new
highs yet again on Friday. The backdrop for commodity-based stocks‚ however‚
remains positive following the uptick in the Chinese manufacturing data
although we still need to see a firmer trend‚” said Devin Shutte‚ a trader at
stockbrokerage‚ Newstrading.
China’s official purchasing managers’ index rose to a
seven-month high of 50.6 in November‚ up from 50.2 in October.
Leading Asian stocks were mixed‚ with Japan’s Nikkei 225
closing 0.13% higher and the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong losing 0.72%.