Profit taking pulls JSE down

Johannesburg - The JSE was in negative territory at noon on Tuesday after a tentative start.

The lack of fresh news regarding the Greek debt talks triggered some profit taking on the local exchange.

"Investors took profits off the large cap stocks such as Anglo American, BHP Billiton and Richemont, which had enjoyed good runs since the start of the year," said Hennie Fourie, stockbroker at PSG Konsult.

At 12:10 local time, the JSE all-share index was down 0.25% to 34,092.32 points, with gold index losing 0.12%, while platinums gained 0.61% and resources were down 0.53%.

Industrials slipped 0.31%, financials edged up 0.27%, and banks were up 0.30%

The rand was trading at 7.55 to the US dollar, from 7.58 at the JSE's close on Monday. Gold was quoted at US$1,723.13 a troy ounce from US$1,720.61/oz at the JSE's previous close, while platinum was at US$1,625/oz, from US$1,615.58/oz before.

European stock markets traded lower on Tuesday, as market participants continued to refrain from adding exposure to equities until there is news from Greece on its debt restructuring.

London's FTSE 100 fell 0.21% to 5,879.76.

Officials in Greece have struggled to make headway on austerity measures, which are crucial for obtaining the next instalment of the bailout package for the debt-strapped country, with Prime Minister Lucas Papademos and other political leaders delaying a key meeting on reforms demanded by the country's creditors.

Greece's failure to reach a deal led Fitch Ratings to say the eurozone sovereign debt crisis is likely to be prolonged, and that severe contagion is likely across Europe if bailout negotiations in Greece fail.

Asian shares ended mostly lower, with China's Shanghai Composite dropping 1.7% to 2291.90 and Japan's Nikkei Stock Average slipping 0.1% to 8,917.52.

A lack of clear progress in ongoing debt-restructuring talks in Greece also bruised sentiment in Asia.