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Johannesburg - The JSE posted steeper losses on Friday, defying global bourses as local investors caught up with their international counterparts. Mining stocks dropped particularly hard in reaction to lower commodity prices.
The JSE was closed for the public holiday on Thursday, when shares fell around the world, and the domestic market was accounting for that, said Kevin Algeo, portfolio manager at Imara SP Reid.
By 17:00 local time, the JSE All Share [JSE:J203] index was down 1.19%, with resources easing 1.46%, gold miners sliding 2.62% and platinum miners falling 0.29%. Elsewhere, industrials also lost 1.01%, financials slipped 0.45% and banks were 0.37% lower.
The rand was last bid at 6.76 to the dollar from 6.79 at the JSE's close on Wednesday. Gold was quoted at US$1 537.12 a troy ounce from US$1,532.19/oz at the JSE's previous close, while platinum was at $1 748.00/oz, from $1 792.50/oz previously.
Algeo said international markets took kindly to the news that German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy had indicated they backed a new rescue package for Greece that included "fully voluntary" participation of private investors holding Greek debt.
Upbeat US economic data also boosted sentiments, he said.
Dow Jones Newswires reported that US stocks rose on Friday, putting the market on track for its first weekly gain since late April, as hopes intensified that a resolution to the Greek debt crisis was coming soon.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 73 points, or 0.6%, to 12 032 in early trading.
Friday morning's rally followed broad gains in European markets, after France and Germany displayed unity in working toward a solution to a new aid package for debt-laden Greece.
Merkel and Sarkozy said they would seek European Central Bank consent for a new rescue package for Greece. The aid would include "fully voluntary" participation of private investors holding Greek debt.
"People are primarily focused on what potentially could've been a repeat of what we went through in 2008," said John Gillette, a trader at Lazard Capital Markets. "If they get a deal done for Greece, the headline risk may go away in the near term."
The JSE was closed for the public holiday on Thursday, when shares fell around the world, and the domestic market was accounting for that, said Kevin Algeo, portfolio manager at Imara SP Reid.
By 17:00 local time, the JSE All Share [JSE:J203] index was down 1.19%, with resources easing 1.46%, gold miners sliding 2.62% and platinum miners falling 0.29%. Elsewhere, industrials also lost 1.01%, financials slipped 0.45% and banks were 0.37% lower.
The rand was last bid at 6.76 to the dollar from 6.79 at the JSE's close on Wednesday. Gold was quoted at US$1 537.12 a troy ounce from US$1,532.19/oz at the JSE's previous close, while platinum was at $1 748.00/oz, from $1 792.50/oz previously.
Algeo said international markets took kindly to the news that German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy had indicated they backed a new rescue package for Greece that included "fully voluntary" participation of private investors holding Greek debt.
Upbeat US economic data also boosted sentiments, he said.
Dow Jones Newswires reported that US stocks rose on Friday, putting the market on track for its first weekly gain since late April, as hopes intensified that a resolution to the Greek debt crisis was coming soon.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 73 points, or 0.6%, to 12 032 in early trading.
Friday morning's rally followed broad gains in European markets, after France and Germany displayed unity in working toward a solution to a new aid package for debt-laden Greece.
Merkel and Sarkozy said they would seek European Central Bank consent for a new rescue package for Greece. The aid would include "fully voluntary" participation of private investors holding Greek debt.
"People are primarily focused on what potentially could've been a repeat of what we went through in 2008," said John Gillette, a trader at Lazard Capital Markets. "If they get a deal done for Greece, the headline risk may go away in the near term."
