Share

JSE treads water as investors digest gains

Johannesburg - Share prices on the JSE hardly moved on Tuesday morning as investors digest the substantial advances of the last six to eight trading days.
 
Most of the indices opened modestly higher on Tuesday morning, but the intraday graphs turned downwards shortly after that and by midday on Tuesday the major indices had hardly changed.
 
At that stage the All-share index was only 0.04% higher at 53 009 points after opening about 200 points higher, and the Top 40-index was unchanged at 47 388 points.
 
The Financial index was 0.18% lower, the Industrial index only gained 0.22% and the Resources index lost only 0.23%. The Gold index recovered somewhat from a hopelessly oversold position and traded 1.57% higher, although commodity prices were still under pressure.
 
The technical analysts of Imara SP Reid predicted on Tuesday morning in their daily Market Snapshot that early marginal advances will make way for modest profit-taking as the markets digest the substantial gains of the last few days.
 
They said however that the overall near term technical structure for the All-Share and Top 40-indices continues to improve and short-term trading positions with appropriate stop-loss levels can be maintained.
 
Investors' focus is however changing. With concerns easing about the Greek debt crisis and China's market rout, dealers are now focusing on when the US Federal Reserve will raise interest rates as the US economy gets back on track.
 
One of the results of the increased focus on US interest rates is a stronger dollar, which puts commodity prices under continued pressure. Gold and platinum prices are at levels seen more than five years ago and the oil price is hovering at around $56 for a barrel of Brent crude.
 
Although the Gold index recovered somewhat, some of South Africa’s biggest gold shares again reached new 52-week lows. Harmony [JSE:HAR] was another 4.88% lower at R11.89 and Sibanye [JSE:SGL] lost 3.31% to trade at a low of R16.92. AngloGold Ashanti [JSE:ANG] was also on yet another low when it dropped 1.57% to R84.00.
 
In the platinum sector Impala Platinum [JSE:IMP] also lost another 1.57% to reach a low of R48.12.
 
There is still a great deal of interest in retail shares, with Woolworths [JSE:WHL] again being one the busiest shares on the JSE. The share price also reached a new 52-week high of R99.94, which means investors have seen growth of 27.8% in the stock in the year to date.
 
Building material suppliers seem to be doing particularly well, with Cashbuild [JSE:CSB] and Iliad [JSE:ILA] on new 52-week highs on Tuesday morning. Casbuild’s share price, which has grown 100.37% in the year to date, traded another 0.41% higher on a new high of R330.36.
 
Iliad was by midday 0.84% stronger on a high of R9.65 and the share price is now 32% higher since the beginning of the year.
 
Reinet [JSE:REI], the investment company in the Rupert stable, also reached a 52-week high on Tuesday morning. By midday the share was 0.74% higher at R27.40 and it is now 7.68% stronger for the year to date.
 
The shares of the two cellphone giants, Vodacom [JSE:VOD] and MTN [JSE:MTN], were again among the most widely traded on Tuesday. Vodacom performed the best and gained 0.82% to R137.01, but MTN was only 0.04% stronger at R217.08.
We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Rand - Dollar
19.05
-0.8%
Rand - Pound
24.04
-0.6%
Rand - Euro
20.56
-0.4%
Rand - Aus dollar
12.37
-0.2%
Rand - Yen
0.13
-0.8%
Platinum
899.20
+0.3%
Palladium
999.25
-0.3%
Gold
2,209.51
+0.7%
Silver
24.55
-0.4%
Brent Crude
86.09
-0.2%
Top 40
68,080
+0.6%
All Share
74,278
+0.5%
Resource 10
56,967
+2.4%
Industrial 25
103,572
+0.3%
Financial 15
16,456
-0.4%
All JSE data delayed by at least 15 minutes Iress logo
Company Snapshot
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE
Government tenders

Find public sector tender opportunities in South Africa here.

Government tenders
This portal provides access to information on all tenders made by all public sector organisations in all spheres of government.
Browse tenders