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Johannesburg - The JSE was trading in the black at midday on Thursday, elevated slightly by local news regarding the JSE index changes.
A local trader said: "The JSE had their meeting yesterday about what changes would be made to the index constituents"
Some of the bigger changes made include the decisions to move British American Tobacco (BTI) into the Top 40 and ArcelorMittal (ACL) out.
At 12:00 local time, the all share index was up 0.57%. Resources lifted 0.66%, gold miners increased 0.55% and platinums rose 0.35%.
Banks were 0.63% higher, financials generated 0.61%, and industrials collected 0.58%.
The rand was bid at 8.06 to the dollar, from 8.07 at the JSE's close on Wednesday. Gold traded at US$1,739.11 a troy ounce from US$1,733.09/oz at the JSE's previous close, while platinum was quoted at US$1,517.70/oz, from US$1,514.50/oz at the previous close.
The trader said that overall the market had been stronger across all sectors although volumes were very light.
Dow Jones Newswires reported that European stocks posted mild gains on Thursday as investors waited tentatively for the European Central Bank's rate announcement and the start of a key European Union summit, where the future of the single monetary union will be discussed.
Investors were largely expecting the European Central Bank to cut its main rate by 0.25 percentage point to 1% but there was also debate over whether the central bank will introduce quantitative-easing measures.
Much now rests on the two-day European Summit in Brussels, where leaders will discuss the sovereign-debt crisis and closer fiscal consolidation in the eurozone.
Earlier, Asian stock markets finished mostly lower on Thursday as investors adopted a cautious stance ahead of the ECB and EU meetings later in the day. Japan's Nikkei Stock Average dropped 0.66% and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index was down 0.69%.
A local trader said: "The JSE had their meeting yesterday about what changes would be made to the index constituents"
Some of the bigger changes made include the decisions to move British American Tobacco (BTI) into the Top 40 and ArcelorMittal (ACL) out.
At 12:00 local time, the all share index was up 0.57%. Resources lifted 0.66%, gold miners increased 0.55% and platinums rose 0.35%.
Banks were 0.63% higher, financials generated 0.61%, and industrials collected 0.58%.
The rand was bid at 8.06 to the dollar, from 8.07 at the JSE's close on Wednesday. Gold traded at US$1,739.11 a troy ounce from US$1,733.09/oz at the JSE's previous close, while platinum was quoted at US$1,517.70/oz, from US$1,514.50/oz at the previous close.
The trader said that overall the market had been stronger across all sectors although volumes were very light.
Dow Jones Newswires reported that European stocks posted mild gains on Thursday as investors waited tentatively for the European Central Bank's rate announcement and the start of a key European Union summit, where the future of the single monetary union will be discussed.
Investors were largely expecting the European Central Bank to cut its main rate by 0.25 percentage point to 1% but there was also debate over whether the central bank will introduce quantitative-easing measures.
Much now rests on the two-day European Summit in Brussels, where leaders will discuss the sovereign-debt crisis and closer fiscal consolidation in the eurozone.
Earlier, Asian stock markets finished mostly lower on Thursday as investors adopted a cautious stance ahead of the ECB and EU meetings later in the day. Japan's Nikkei Stock Average dropped 0.66% and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index was down 0.69%.
