JSE snaps two days of losses

Johannesburg - South African stocks ended slightly higher on Wednesday, snapping two days of losses, with Gold Fields [JSE:GFI]  among the top gainers after boosting its quarterly output.

Overall, the stock market tracked global equities on revived hopes euro zone leaders will take major steps at a summit this weekend to tackle the region’s debt crisis.

The JSE Top 40 - (Tradeable) [JSE:J200] index was up 0.5% at 27 901.1 and the broader All Share [JSE:J203] index gained 0.46% to 31 197.35.

“The mood seems to be positive in global markets ahead of the euro zone summit at the weekend,” Barend Saayman, a portfolio manager at PSG Konsult.

Gold Fields found favour, rising 1.89%, to R124.30 after the gold miner said quarterly output rose 3% despite a 5-day disruptive strike.

Steinhoff International Holdings [JSE:SHF] rallied 3.16% to R23.20 rand after Fitch Ratings said the furniture retailer’s sale of some of its industrial assets would not affect its credit rating.

The rand was softer against the dollar in late afternoon trade on Wednesday as it tracked a euro that was off its best levels of the day.

"The euro has come off over 50 points in the last hour due to tensions between France and Germany over how to deal with the present crisis," a local rand trader said.

"The rand's fortunes are still driven by sentiment towards risk in Europe and things are looking weak at the moment," he added.

At 18:00 local time, the rand was trading at 7.9989 to the dollar from its previous close of 7.9634. It was trading at 11.0271 to the euro from 10.9472 before, and at 12.6373 against sterling from 12.5150 previously.