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Johannesburg - The JSE remained fragile across the board at noon on Wednesday, as investors brought the Greek debt crisis to the fore and awaited a statement from the US Federal Reserve later in the day.
There were a couple of factors that helped drag the market lower and these included persistent concerns over Greece and speculation about what the Fed might say about quantitative easing, an equity strategist said.
By 12:01 local time, the JSE All Share [JSE:J203] index was down 0.60%, with resources dropping 0.67%, platinum miners falling 0.79% and gold miners shedding 0.83%. Elsewhere, financials eased 0.62%, banks lost 0.92% and industrials were 0.55% lower.
The rand was last bid at 6.78 to the dollar from 6.73 at the JSE's close on Tuesday. Gold was quoted at US$1 544.89 a troy ounce from US$1 546.25/oz at the JSE's previous close, while platinum was at $1 746.50/oz, from $1 745.70/oz previously.
The equity strategist said the dollar had strengthened, driving commodity prices lower. This kept resource stocks under pressure, he added.
Dow Jones Newswires reported that European stocks had pushed slightly lower on Wednesday, with investors still concerned about the potential obstacles to a solution to Greece's sovereign debt problem.
After winning Tuesday's vote, Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou must persuade parliament to approve a five-year, EUR28 billion package of tax increases and spending cuts to win a new bailout and avoid a possible fresh global economic crisis.
London's FTSE 100 index lost 0.47%.
Also prompting caution is the US Federal Reserve's latest interest rate decision, due at 16:30 GMT, with most expecting the central bank to keep rates on hold.
There were a couple of factors that helped drag the market lower and these included persistent concerns over Greece and speculation about what the Fed might say about quantitative easing, an equity strategist said.
By 12:01 local time, the JSE All Share [JSE:J203] index was down 0.60%, with resources dropping 0.67%, platinum miners falling 0.79% and gold miners shedding 0.83%. Elsewhere, financials eased 0.62%, banks lost 0.92% and industrials were 0.55% lower.
The rand was last bid at 6.78 to the dollar from 6.73 at the JSE's close on Tuesday. Gold was quoted at US$1 544.89 a troy ounce from US$1 546.25/oz at the JSE's previous close, while platinum was at $1 746.50/oz, from $1 745.70/oz previously.
The equity strategist said the dollar had strengthened, driving commodity prices lower. This kept resource stocks under pressure, he added.
Dow Jones Newswires reported that European stocks had pushed slightly lower on Wednesday, with investors still concerned about the potential obstacles to a solution to Greece's sovereign debt problem.
After winning Tuesday's vote, Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou must persuade parliament to approve a five-year, EUR28 billion package of tax increases and spending cuts to win a new bailout and avoid a possible fresh global economic crisis.
London's FTSE 100 index lost 0.47%.
Also prompting caution is the US Federal Reserve's latest interest rate decision, due at 16:30 GMT, with most expecting the central bank to keep rates on hold.
