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Johannesburg - The JSE kick-started the new quarter on a
positive note, supported by strong buying interest in the resources sector,
following better than expected official manufacturing data in China.
At 09:18 local time, the JSE All Share [JSE:J203] index was
up 0.34% to 33,668.11 points, with resources adding 1.15%, gold shares rising
0.70%, and platinum miners gaining 0.74%.
Banks, however, were down 0.35%, while financials dipped
0.14%, and industrials were flat.
The rand was trading at R7.62 to the US dollar, from R7.67
at the JSE's close on Friday. Gold was quoted at $1 664.50 a troy ounce from $1
663.23/oz at the JSE's previous close, while platinum was at $1 639.20/oz, from
$1 632/oz from the previous session.
During the last three months, the JSE all-share index has
lifted 4.9%, but resources slid 4.8%, with the gold index down 16%.
"We are off to a fairly positive start to the new
quarter, fuelled by the PMI data out of China," said Nick Kunze, head of
dealing at BJM Private Clients Services. "Unfortunately for the last
quarter, the general resources took a pounding out of reports of a possible slowdown
in China."
European stocks started slightly higher, buoyed by official
manufacturing data for China, which may ease market concerns about the extent
of China's slowing economy, Dow Jones Newswires reported.
The official Chinese purchasing managers index government
print was 53.1 in March, up from 51 in February. The March reading in the
official report was the fourth consecutive monthly increase and is in stark
contrast to HSBC's China PMI print of 48.3, released over a week ago. HSBC'S
reading has been below 50 for five months.
Nevertheless, today's outcome has helped to ease concerns
about a potential hard landing for the world's second biggest economy.
Asian stock markets were mixed, as investors digested upbeat
data in China and the US, while a weaker yen lifted Tokyo shares.
Japan's Nikkei Stock Average rose 0.26%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 0.42%, while Chinese markets were closed for a public holiday.
