Johannesburg - South African stocks hit fresh record highs
on Wednesday lifted by a rise in mining shares such as African Rainbow
Minerals.
The Top 40 - (Tradeable) [JSE:J200] index hit a record high
of 33,891.09 from a previous high of 33,872.69. The All Share [JSE:J203] index
was at a record high of 38,149.53.
All the major JSE indices were in the black‚ with platinum
stocks continuing to rise while gold miners rebounded after falling two days in
a row.
Platinum and gold miners gained 1.09% and 0.89%
respectively.
Asian markets rose on hope for Chinese economic growth‚ with
Japan’s Nikkei rising 0.39% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index up 1.79%.
The US fiscal cliff continued to dominate market sentiment.
With both sides still posturing to the media while the real talks took place
behind closed doors‚ it was hard to know how things were really progressing‚
Rand Merchant Bank said in a morning note.
“The latest thinking is that Congress will want to wrap things
up before Christmas. This implies the week ending December 21 will result in
the action. This is the same week that the ANC holds its Mangaung national
conference‚” RMB said.
“Commodities are struggling for direction amid renewed
concern about the outlook of the US economy as the fiscal cliff debate
continues. Gold’s appeal as a safe-haven asset is falling by the wayside as the
metal continues to track the rest of the commodities complex lower‚” the bank
said.