JSE slips as Greek debt weighs

Johannesburg - The JSE dipped at its opening on Friday, with the Greek debt overhang weighing on investor sentiment.

At 09:17 local time, the JSE All Share [JSE:J203] index was down 0.37% to 34,142.95 points, with the resource counters losing 0.71%; the gold index pulled back 0.37% and platinum shares lost 0.77%.

Industrials edged down 0.16%, financials shaved off 0.25%, and banks slipped 0.28%.

The rand was weaker at R7.65 to the US dollar, from R7.58 at the JSE's close on Thursday. Gold was quoted at $1 730.77 a troy ounce from $1 749.30/oz at the JSE's previous close, while platinum was at $1 651.50/oz, from $1 669/oz before.

"The Greek debt woes are intractable. It's going to a fairly long time to resolve," said Chris Gilmour, analyst at Absa Investments. "In the meanwhile, the degree of scepticism among market players is weighing on the market."

Asian markets fell on Friday as traders grew nervous over Greece's chances of avoiding a default after eurozone chiefs withheld a new bailout and ordered Greece's government to agree to more cuts.

Eurozone finance ministers withheld approval for a second Greek bailout on Thursday and demanded fresh proof from Greece's political leaders that they were ready to deliver on past and new pledges to seal a second bailout package as early as next week.

After a meeting on Thursday, the ministers said they would meet again on Wednesday to push through the €130bn bailout that Greece needs to avoid defaulting on its debt.

But first, the Greek parliament must approve new austerity policies and a package of economic overhauls, and the government needs to detail how it will bridge a fiscal gap of €325m to meet budget targets this year.

"We still have a lot of work to do by next Wednesday," said Dutch Minister of Finance Jan Kees de Jager after the meeting. "Greece have been given their homework, which is explaining what's in the €325m."

As a result, European markets are called to open lower.