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Johannesburg - The JSE turned around during the course of the morning and was around a quarter of a percentage point firmer by midday, led higher by industrials and a marginal improvement in resources. Retailers were also a strong feature.
Shortly before noon, the JSE all share index was up 0.22%, with industrials 0.59% firmer and resources 0.13% higher. Gold miners were 0.44% lower and platinum miners were off 0.91%. Banks were off 0.41% and financials eased 0.34%.
The rand was bid at R7.43 to the dollar, from R7.38 at the JSE's close on Wednesday. Gold was quoted at $1 108.73 a troy ounce from $1 119.60/oz at the JSE's last close. Platinum was at $1 591/oz from $1 588.60/oz at the JSE's last close.
"The market is a bit of a mixed bag. Resources are slightly higher and retailers are strong. Overall the market is up, but not dramatically so," said a local trader.
He added that the slightly weaker rand is attracting buying in the likes of Anglos, Billiton and Richemont, but here are some areas of the market where there is some consolidation after the recent strong run.
"We have seen a pause in the banking stocks, which have had a good run in recent days. The appetite for risk still looks positive, but I won't be surprised to see some consolidation," he said.
Dow Jones Newswires reported European stocks were flat and in London the FTSE 100 was also flat, coming off lows. The index nudged just a tad higher after the BOE's inflation expectations survey, which showed UK public expectations for the year edging up in February.
Economic data are thin on the ground, with the US weekly jobless claims at 13:30 GMT, which often influences the direction of indexes.
Asian stock markets ended mixed on Thursday, with several markets paring gains as resource stocks fell after Chinese economic data sparked fresh worries of further tightening measures from Beijing.
Japan's Nikkei Stock Average of 225 companies advanced 1.0% to 10,664.95 and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index inched up 0.1%. Among Chinese stock benchmarks, the Shanghai Composite rose 0.1%, giving up most of its early gains, while the Shenzhen Composite index slid 0.1%.
- I-Net Bridge
