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Johannesburg - South Africa’s top Top-40 share
index declined 0.42 percent on Tuesday as negative sentiment in global markets
heaped pressure on resource stocks such as gold miners Harmony and AngloGold
Ashanti.
A threat by ratings agency Standard & Poors to downgrade 15 out
of 17 euro zone countries, including top-rated Germany and France, should Europe
disagree on a how to pull itself of the debt quagmire dampened previously
optimistic markets.
“Obviously that knocked our markets a bit. That put a negative
impetus on things,” said Nick Kunze, head of dealing at BJM Private Clients.
“I’m afraid for the time being we are still continuing to take
direction from global markets. Obviously this week being crucial with the ECB
meeting on Thursday and the euro zone heads of states’ meeting on Friday.”
The Top 40 - (Tradeable) [JSE:J200] index shed 124.09 points to 29 283.81, while the broader
All Share [JSE:J203] index was down 0.34% to 32 719.23.
Spot gold fell to its lowest in nearly a week, hit by persistent
fears about Europe’s debt crisis after Standard & Poor’s said it could
downgrade euro zone nations if no concrete plan to tackle the crisis emerged.
Spot gold was at a session low of $1,702.70 an ounce at 1513 GMT.
Harmony Gold dropped 2.5% to R110.80 and AngloGold
Ashanti lost 1.8% to R369.47.
Platinum miners fell over 1 percent following a decline in the
price of spot platinum and as Goldman Sachs lowered its price targets for
producers Anglo American Platinum and Impala Platinum.
Amplats, the world’s biggest producer of the precious metal, was
down nearly 1 percent to 550 rand. Goldman cut its target to 530 rand from 550
rand.
Implats, the world’s second-largest producer, fell 1.3 percent to
171.50. Goldman cut its target to 170 rand from 180 rand.
On the flip side, retailers such as Shoprite and Truworths gained,
benefitting from the optimism generated by a jump in Germany’s industrial orders
in October.
“Retailers are stronger on the back of positive sentiment. They are
very foreign-held, and there have been a couple of upgrades in the sector,”
Kunze said.
Investors traded more than 218 million shares, according to
preliminary figures at 1514 GMT, and 120 companies advanced against 151 fallers.
