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Johannesburg -The JSE is following in the footsteps of international markets that are waiting for new economic news to give them a boost.
By midday on Friday the local indices were virtually unchanged after Wall Street closed flat on Friday and Asian markets were the victim of some profit-taking on Friday morning.
Analysts said investors are becoming nervous as they wait for the latest US payroll report. This report should confirm that the US economy is still on a growth path, and that the previous month’s weak figures were the result of severe weather conditions.
At midday the All-share index which started firmer on Friday morning was 0.03% lower on 48 217, and the Top 40 index was 0.02% weaker on 43 430. On Thursday night indices closed lower after investors decided to take profits after serious gains earlier in the week.
The star performers on Friday morning were once again the resources and gold sectors, as investors see value in some of the shares after a useful correction in both sectors. A softer rand and higher commodity prices provided further support.
But all the attention is on Friday afternoon's US payroll report to give the markets another boost. Barclays Research said in a global report they expected an increase of 225 000 in payrolls and the rate of unemployment to have fallen to 6.6%.
Anything less than the median forecasts for a rise of 200 000 in payrolls would be bad news for the markets.
The decision by the European Central Bank (ECB) to keep policy on hold at Thursday’s meeting was expected. It seems if the bank is keeping a back door open in case the recovery in Europe is weaker than expected.
The big diversified resources stocks continued their run on Friday morning. Anglo American (AGL) gained 0.82% to R269.58 and BHP Billiton (BIL) was up 1.10% to R342.74. Among the gold shares AngloGold Ashanti (AGL) was 0.73% higher on R184.01.
Naspers (NPN) opened sharply lower on Friday morning and at midday was 4.28% lower at R1 103.03. The share reached a high of R1 354.09 on March 11, but was on a downward path since then as investors are concerned about stumbling blocks in the way of Tencent’s plan to introduce electronic payment.
Naspers owns 34% of the Chinese internet company.
By midday on Friday the local indices were virtually unchanged after Wall Street closed flat on Friday and Asian markets were the victim of some profit-taking on Friday morning.
Analysts said investors are becoming nervous as they wait for the latest US payroll report. This report should confirm that the US economy is still on a growth path, and that the previous month’s weak figures were the result of severe weather conditions.
At midday the All-share index which started firmer on Friday morning was 0.03% lower on 48 217, and the Top 40 index was 0.02% weaker on 43 430. On Thursday night indices closed lower after investors decided to take profits after serious gains earlier in the week.
The star performers on Friday morning were once again the resources and gold sectors, as investors see value in some of the shares after a useful correction in both sectors. A softer rand and higher commodity prices provided further support.
But all the attention is on Friday afternoon's US payroll report to give the markets another boost. Barclays Research said in a global report they expected an increase of 225 000 in payrolls and the rate of unemployment to have fallen to 6.6%.
Anything less than the median forecasts for a rise of 200 000 in payrolls would be bad news for the markets.
The decision by the European Central Bank (ECB) to keep policy on hold at Thursday’s meeting was expected. It seems if the bank is keeping a back door open in case the recovery in Europe is weaker than expected.
The big diversified resources stocks continued their run on Friday morning. Anglo American (AGL) gained 0.82% to R269.58 and BHP Billiton (BIL) was up 1.10% to R342.74. Among the gold shares AngloGold Ashanti (AGL) was 0.73% higher on R184.01.
Naspers (NPN) opened sharply lower on Friday morning and at midday was 4.28% lower at R1 103.03. The share reached a high of R1 354.09 on March 11, but was on a downward path since then as investors are concerned about stumbling blocks in the way of Tencent’s plan to introduce electronic payment.
Naspers owns 34% of the Chinese internet company.
* Fin24 is part of Media24, a subsidiary of Naspers.
