Johannesburg – Strong demand for mining shares kept the JSE above the 40 000-point level at noon on Friday as investors welcomed the latest upbeat economic data out of China.
At 12:34‚ the All Share [JSE:J203] index was up 0.39% to 40 118.92 points. Platinum and gold stocks rallied 1.40% and 1.27% respectively and resources gained 0.99%.
China’s gross domestic product grew 7.9% year-on-year in the fourth quarter from 7.4% in the preceding quarter.
“China’s economic numbers‚ coupled with upbeat US data on Thursday‚ have stimulated risk-on trade‚” said Devin Shutte‚ a trader at stockbrokerage‚ Newstrading.
Retail shares - under the spotlight for the whole week - resumed their slide on Friday‚ after the Mr Price trading update late on Thursday‚ in what analysts attribute to stretched valuations.
Elsewhere‚ leading European stock market indices were firmer‚ with London’s FTSE 100 up 0.50% at noon.
On the JSE‚ Anglo American (AGL) added 1.69% to R269.29‚ Amplats (AMS) gained 1.79% to R454.99 and Harmony (HAR) added 2.09% to R66.91.
Among industrials‚ British American Tobacco (BTI) was up 1.43% to R449.30‚ SABMiller (SAB) garnered 1.29% to R422.15 and Bidvest (BVT) lifted 1.69% to R216.54.