Johannesburg - The JSE extended its losses at noon on Monday‚ with the downside led by general mining shares‚ while European stocks fell after a positive open‚ on continued global growth concerns.
At 12:22 local time‚ the JSE All Share
[JSE:J203] index was down 0.63% at 34‚011.76 points‚ with resources losing 1.06%‚ gold shares shedding 1.19% and platinum counters down 1.16%.
Financials were flat (0.01%)‚ banking stocks gained 0.43% and industrials slid 0.62%.
The rand was trading at 8.27 to the US dollar‚ from 8.25 at the JSE’s close on Friday‚ while gold changed hands at $1 582.67 a troy ounce from $1 588.24/oz at the JSE’s previous close and platinum was quoted at $1 441.70/oz‚ from $1 455.50/oz previously.
“The Spanish bond yields are back above the 7% mark‚ while the US dollar has strengthened‚” said Reuben Beelders‚ portfolio manager at Gryphon Asset Management. “It is a sign of risk-off environment. The global economic growth forecast has steadily been revised downwards‚ which does not bode well for corporate profit.”
In Europe‚ London’s FTSE 100 index was down 0.43% at noon SA time.
Investors were sceptical that Monday's eurogroup meeting would yield any real progress‚ Dow Jones Newswires reported.
In Asia‚ Japan’s Nikkei average ended the session 1.37% in the red‚ while the Hang Seng index was down 1.88% by the close.
Investors are also looking ahead to a slew of Chinese economic data out this week‚ including second-quarter growth‚ to gauge whether China is heading towards a hard or a soft landing.