JSE slips on Greek debt fears

Johannesburg - The JSE opened weaker on Thursday, tracking negative global sentiment amid lingering Greek debt worries.

At 09:12 local time, the JSE All Share [JSE:J203] index was off 0.46% to 33 933.31 points, led down by resources, which shed 0.84%, gold miners slid 0.63%, while the platinum index lost 0.57%.

Financials were down 0.37%, banks lost 0.52%, while industrials dipped 0.23%.

The rand weakened to R7.78 to the US dollar, from R7.72 at the JSE's close on Wednesday. Gold was quoted at $1 722.46 a troy ounce from $1 734.52/oz at the JSE's previous close, while platinum was at $1 618/oz, from $1 642/oz before.

"The US Federal Reserve's statement that there will be no quantitative easing in the short term might have added to the negative market sentiment," said Viv Govender, market watcher at Vunani Private Clients Services.

Asian markets fell on Thursday, tracking losses on Wall Street as doubts mounted over whether the eurozone would approve a bailout for debt-stricken Greece as it races to avoid a default, Dow Jones Newswires reports.

"Suffice to say if 'Greece' appears in a headline, the knee-jerk reaction is to sell risk and try to figure things out later," David Watt, senior currency strategist at RBC Capital Markets, said in a note.

European investors are likely to follow suit, with London's FTSE called to open 46 points lower to 5 846 points.

US futures are lower, after the Dow Jones Industrial Average suffered its steepest fall of the year as questions about the latest Greek bailout added to concerns about industrial stocks.