Johannesburg - The JSE was up slightly at noon on Wednesday on the back of today's futures close-out, which is helping the local market outperform its European counterparts.
Banks gained over 1% after Royal Bafokeng Holdings (RBH) announced it had agreed with RMB Holdings Limited [JSE:RMH] to acquire a 5% interest in RMBH and FirstRand [JSE:FSR] said that it had agreed to sell its 45% stake in OUTsurance South Africa's leading direct short-term insurer to RMBH Holdings for R3.75bn, Andrew Todd, an equity derivatives trader at Imara SP Reid, said.
Bargain-hinting also lifted banking stocks.
"Futures activity is propping up the market," Todd said.
By 12:02 local time the JSE all share index rose 0.32%, with banks climbing 1.42%, financials firming 0.65%, and industrials adding only 0.07%.
Platinum miners gained 0.31% and resources rose 0.36%. But gold miners lost 0.36%.
The rand was bid at 6.82 to the dollar from 6.80 at the JSE's close on Tuesday. Gold was quoted at US$1 389.49 a troy ounce from US$1 393.60/oz at the JSE's previous close, while platinum was at $1 697.00 /oz from $1 695.50/oz before.
The local bourse seemed to have shrugged off news that Moody's Investors Service had put out a ratings watch on Spain earlier today.
Moody's Investors Service placed Spain's Aa1 local and foreign currency government bond ratings on review for possible downgrade early on Wednesday.
It said the main triggers for placing the rating on review for possible downgrade were Spain's vulnerability to funding stress given its high refinancing needs in 2011; and a potential further increase in the public debt ratio should the cost of bank recapitalisation prove to be higher than expected so far, whether to meet higher-than-expected asset impairments or simply to retain the confidence of the wholesale markets.
Increased concerns over the ability of the Spanish government to achieve the required sustainable and structural improvement in general government finances given the limits of central government control over the regional governments' finances was another trigger.
Dow Jones Newswires reported that European stocks fell on Wednesday, along with the euro, as the euro zone's sovereign-debt problems were highlighted again by the decision of Moody's Investors Service to put Spain's Aa1 local and foreign-currency government bond ratings on review for possible downgrade.
The move by Moody's highlighted for investors the risk of contagion spreading throughout the euro zone and came ahead of the Irish parliamentary vote later Wednesday on whether to accept an €67.5bn aid package from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund.
In London, the FTSE 100 fell 0.26%.
Asian stock markets were mostly lower on Wednesday, with shares in Japan weighed by a report showing a weak outlook for the country's manufacturing sector.
Japan's Nikkei Stock Average was 0.07% lower, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index was 1.95% weaker.