Johannesburg - The JSE experienced a mixed day’s trade on Monday moving between marginal gains and losses. The bourse eventually closed in the red‚ after a softer Dow opening.
At 17:00 the All Share
[JSE:J203] index was down 0.15% at 40 832‚67 points‚ with gold and platinums giving back 1.24% and 0.98% respectively. Resources gave up 0.57% on a day that wasn’t kind to mining stocks.
Leading European markets were mixed in afternoon trade‚ with the UK’s FTSE 100 gaining 0.20% at 17:00 local time‚ while across the Atlantic the Dow was 0.26% softer at the same time.
“Financial counters were among the best performers‚ keeping our local bourse afloat‚ and offsetting some of the losses in miners‚ more specifically gold and platinum counters‚” said Shaun Murison‚ market analyst at IG SA.
“A trading statement from Impala Platinum initiated the weakness within the sector as the company warned that it expected headline earnings per share (HEPS)‚ for the six month period ending December‚ to be between 76% and 79% lower than the previous comparative period.
“ArcelorMittal (ACL) was one of the biggest losers on the day‚ following a report that there had been extensive damage to its steel making facilities at its Vanderbijlpark plant from a fire over the weekend. The news catalysed an intraday decline in excess of 7% continuing the weakening trend which has been in place since its 2008 highs‚” Murison said.
“On the contrary Liberty Holdings produced a trading statement which was well received by market participants‚” he said.
On the international front it had been a quiet start to the week as many Asian markets are closed due to New Year celebrations‚ and there was little in the way of market-moving economic data on Monday‚ Barclays said in a global note.
“Chinese export and import growth in January were stronger than expected. While Chinese New Year distortions are likely to have played a part‚ we think stronger domestic demand also contributed to the significant increase in imports‚” the bank said.
On the JSE Sibanye Gold (SGL) debuted on the JSE on Monday at just over R13 per share. Sibanye — which houses the Kloof Driefontein Complex and Beatrix gold mines as well as various service companies — was unbundled from Gold Fields (GFI) late last year. Sibanye closed at R13.56‚ while Gold Fields shed a massive 13.52% to R91.50.
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