Johannesburg - After two days of seeing red, the
JSE ended firmly in the black on Thursday pushed up by positive sentiment
from better-than-expected GDP data out of the US.
At 17:00 the JSE all share index had added 1.89%, with resources up
2.54% and platinum producers firming 3.89%, but gold counters shed 1.20%.
Banks and financials put on 3.01% and 2.39% respectively, while
industrials collected 0.94%.
The rand was bid at 7.74 to the dollar from 7.76 when the JSE closed on
Wednesday. Gold was quoted at $1 040.45 a troy ounce from $1 033/oz just
before the JSE's last close, and platinum was at $1 330.50/oz from
$1 301/oz at its previous close.
"We were sold off quite a bit these last few days, so it's not
surprising that we have picked up," a trader said.
"We picked up on the US GDP data which was above expectation. US stocks
are up and that is supporting us too. We are up nicely, with the miners also
giving us firm support," she said.
"Gold stocks are the only index in the red," she pointed out.
Dow Jones Newswire reports that US stocks continued moving higher on
Thursday morning as news of the US economy expanding in the third quarter
for the first time in a year, and by a bigger-than-expected amount, gave
investors a jolt of confidence.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was recently up 90 points, or 0.9%, at
9852, after recently trading as high as 9865. If the Dow is able to remain
higher through the close, it would snap its recent losing streak, which had
the Dow posting three triple-digit losses in four sessions.
The Dow's Thursday gains were led by Alcoa and Procter & Gamble. Alcoa
surged 6.6%, erasing nearly all of its Wednesday drop, while P&G climbed
3.3% as its fiscal first-quarter earnings exceeded its forecasts and the
consumer-products giant boosted its sales forecast for the year.
Exxon
Mobil, however, slid 1.7% after missing analysts' earnings expectations for
the second straight quarter.
The S&P 500 rose 1.1%, led by its materials and financial sectors, which
rose more than 2% each.
Stocks had been in a slump recently as investors focused on
disappointing economic data such as the weak housing and durable-goods
reports released on Wednesday. The worries sent the CBOE Market Volatility
Index, or VIX, surging this week, but it dropped 5% in recent Wednesday
trading.
When the JSE closed, the DJIA was last up 0.84%.
- I-Net Bridge