Johannesburg - The JSE was fairly flat at midday on Tuesday despite firmer global bourses, as miners weighed on the overall market. There was also little corporate news to give the market any direction.
At 12:03 local time, the JSE All Share
[JSE:J203] index was up just three points. Resources were 0.68% lower, gold miners shed 1.37% and platinum miners eased 0.1%. Industrials were up 0.38%, financials advanced 0.25% and banking shares were 0.25% higher.
The rand was trading at R7.85 to the US dollar, from R7.93 at the JSE's close on Friday. Gold was quoted at US$1 652.35 a troy ounce from US$1 669.11/oz at the JSE's previous close, while platinum was at $1 575/oz, from $1 595/oz at the previous session.
A local trader said that while the market was off its lows, the JSE had not followed world markets, which were mostly higher, due to the fact that gold miners were weaker.
"Gold stocks have pulled back, and because there are so many heavyweights in the sector, that has contributed to the fairly flat overall market," the trader said.
But, she added, the JSE had been fairly strong recently and certainly has not fallen back as much as some global markets.