JSE stronger on bargain hunting

Johannesburg - The JSE lifted during its opening session on Friday amid some bargain hunting in the resources sector following the previous day's selloff.

At 09:17 local time, the JSE All Share [JSE:J203] index was up 0.83% to 34,081.04 points, led by gold miners, which climbed 1.63%, resources rose 1.40%, while the platinum index lifted 0.85%.

Financials were up 0.38%, banks gained 0.47%, while industrials firmed 0.56%.

The rand was at R7.78 to the US dollar, from R7.81 at the JSE's close on Thursday. Gold was quoted at $1 733.05 a troy ounce from $1 717.26/oz at the JSE's previous close, while platinum was at $1 635/oz, from $1 642/oz before.

"We are seeing continuous improvement in the US economic data, which bodes well for world markets given the size of that country's economy," said Hennie Fourie, stockbroker at PSG Konsult.

Asian stocks mostly rose on Friday, shrugging off concerns about the eurozone's debt crisis as a batch of rosy US economic data buoyed investor sentiment with the Dow Jones Industrial Average hitting a near four-year high, Dow Jones Newswires reports.

"The US continues to be one of the brighter spots in the global economy," Barclays Capital said in a note, adding that while risks abound, "Greece is less likely to deliver a scare to markets, which already seem to be pricing quite a negative scenario."

Investors were encouraged by news the European Central Bank plans to swap its Greek debt holdings for new bonds once debt-restructuring negotiations are complete, moving Athens a step closer to securing a second bailout package critical to avoiding a default.

As a result, European investors seem inclined to follow Asia's risk-taking lead while keeping an eye out for any new glitches in Greece's debt dilemma.

The US stock futures are little changed, after the Dow rebounded to end with its highest close in almost four years after strong readings from the labour and housing markets, and progress in Europe toward a second bailout for Greece.