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JSE turns weak after positive start

Johannesburg - The JSE was decidedly weaker at noon on Thursday after a relatively positive start to the session, as market players focused their attention on disappointing Chinese and German manufacturing data.

In local corporate action, shares in Shoprite Holdings [JSE:SHP] fell more than 7% after the retail giant said it would issue new shares and convertible bonds.

The net proceeds of the transaction, estimated at R8bn, are intended to strengthen and improve the company's structure and efficiency of its balance sheet, to enhance working capital management, to continue investment in organic growth initiatives and to selectively pursue acquisition opportunities.

By 12:00 local time, the JSE All Share [JSE:J203] index had lost 0.93% to 33 564.27 points, with resources sliding 1.86%, platinum miners shedding 1.20% and gold miners losing 0.80%.

Industrials shed 0.40%, banks gave up 0.64%, and financials dipped 0.67%.

The rand was trading at R7.73 to the US dollar, from R7.61 at the JSE's close on Tuesday. Gold was quoted at $1 637.45 a troy ounce from $1 657 at the JSE's previous close, while platinum was at $1 623.50/oz from $1 656/oz.

"The weaker Chinese manufacturing data confirms market participants' fears that China's economic growth is losing momentum," said Devin Shutte, market commentator at stockbrokerage, Newstrading.

"The selloff was compounded by the weaker German PMI (purchasing managers' index) data."

European stocks were also weaker after the eurozone joined China in printing a grim reading on business activity, prompting fears of a sharpening global economic slowdown, Dow Jones Newswires reported.

The eurozone composite PMI for the region fell to 48.7 in March from 49.3 in February. That was under the 50 threshold that indicates growth, and means output fell during the first quarter as a whole.

The eurozone economy shrank 0.3% in the fourth quarter of 2011. A further contraction in the first quarter, as the PMIs suggest, would mean the bloc is now in recession.

London's FTSE 100 index shed 1.01% to 5 832.31 points at about noon local time.

In Asia, stock markets ended mixed, with resource plays underperforming across the region after data showed Chinese manufacturing activity has likely slowed sharply this month.

The Shanghai Composite lost 0.3% and Japan's Nikkei Stock Average was up 0.4%.

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Rand - Dollar
18.94
-0.2%
Rand - Pound
23.89
+0.0%
Rand - Euro
20.44
+0.1%
Rand - Aus dollar
12.34
+0.1%
Rand - Yen
0.13
-0.1%
Platinum
908.75
+1.3%
Palladium
1,014.28
+1.3%
Gold
2,218.96
+1.1%
Silver
24.81
+0.7%
Brent-ruolie
86.09
-0.2%
Top 40
68,346
+1.0%
All Share
74,536
+0.8%
Resource 10
57,251
+2.8%
Industrial 25
103,936
+0.6%
Financial 15
16,502
-0.1%
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