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Johannesburg - The JSE was a bit lower at noon on Tuesday‚
after reaching an all-time high on Monday‚ with no real catalysts driving the
market and participants awaiting some policy clarification moves from central
banks in the US and Europe on Wednesday and Thursday respectively.
“The markets are scared of these highs due to a lack of
concrete action from central banks ... something real will have to come out of
the meetings on Wednesday and Thursday for us to get some better direction‚”
said Devin Shutte‚ market analyst at stockbrokerage Newstrading.
“We have seen some nice buying in the resources sector
today‚ but market participants are still trying to figure out a path going
forward amidst the global growth slowdown. Expectations of ECB president Mario
Draghi have a lot to do with these market highs‚ but we have to see some action
from him to see the rally sustained. It has been a quiet morning with low
volumes due to a lack of real catalysts driving the market‚” he added.
At 11:54 local time‚ the JSE All-share index was down 0.49%
to 34‚787.14 points‚ with gold miners the only gainers‚ up 0.66% to 2‚444.08
points. Platinums have fared worst with a drop of 1.77%.
“ECB President Draghi’s comment last week has stoked
optimism that policymakers would announce measures to spur growth. Market
participants are also eager to hear if there are new programmes to help
suppress Spanish and Italian government bond yields. Meanwhile‚ many bankers in
the US have argued that lowering rates will not help much as banks would gladly
lend more‚ but the demand is just not there‚” said the bank.
In Europe‚ the London FTSE 100 was down 0.18% at 5‚683.12
points at 11:39 local time‚ trading in a narrow range on Tuesday. BP was the
biggest faller‚ down 3.8%‚ following poorly received results. Many traders have
taken to the sidelines ahead of a heavy week of data‚ including the monthly
meetings of the ECB‚ Federal Reserve‚ Bank of England and ahead of nonfarm
payrolls this Friday‚ Dow Jones Newswires reported. BP on Tuesday posted a
dramatic fall of 96% in adjusted profit for the second quarter as the UK oil
giant wrote down the value of some $5bn worth of assets.
Most Asian markets advanced on Tuesday on continued hopes for policy easing from major global central banks and some positive earnings reports. The Japanese Nikkei 225 closed up 0.69% and the Hong Kong Hang Seng Index added 1.08%.
