Publications
Partners
Johannesburg - The JSE opened on the back foot on Thursday as a mixed global
picture led to profit-taking, though there are pockets of strong gains in gold shares
and Dimension Data on news of a buy-out deal.
By 09:31 local time the JSE all share index was down by 0.48%, with platinum counters moving southwards by 1.03% and resources by 0.93%, but golds bucked the trend to collect 0.38%. Industrials lost 0.10%, while banks were down by 0.46% and financials by 0.32%.
The rand was bid at R7.57 to the dollar, from R7.51 at the JSE's last close. Gold was quoted at $1 209.78 a troy ounce from $1 209.83/oz at the JSE's previous close, while platinum was at $1 525.50/oz from $1 527.50/oz before.
US stock futures are starting to edge down, after markets had a mixed performance on Thursday.
Analyst from Afrifocus, Ferdi Heyneke, said that global conditions remain volatile, which is affecting sentiment, though there are some stocks, like BAT and gold counters, bucking the trend.
He says a feature of local activity is that gains are coming through on positive news, but then profit taking sets in thereafter. The positive trend is also being impinged by the regular doses of bad news.
Heyneke says the key news to watch today is the announcement that Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation (NTT), one of the largest global telecommunications service providers, has made a £2.1bn bid to acquire Dimension Data.
Shares in the global specialist IT services and solutions provider Dimension Data Holdings [JSE:DDT] rocketed 20% in early trade.
The picture from overseas remains cloudy, however.
For Thursday's opening, IG Markets is calling the FTSE flat at 5254, the DAX off 6 at 6204 and the CAC down 2 at 3631. As it happened, the FTSE opened down 0.4%, or 21 points, after the open.
Dealers said the fact companies could be doing so well probably reflected the sharp restructuring they went through to cope with the global slump, making them
better able to cope with headwinds as the recovery slows. The key issue is whether they will be able to continue to increase earnings if things get tougher still.
"With the strong gains of the last few sessions, it was always going to slow down a little," said analyst James Hughes at CMC Markets.
ETX Capital trader Manoj Ladwa said that after the recent gains, investors would be hoping for just such a lead to sustain the advance.
"While the appetite for risk seems to be returning, the market will be looking to US firms to continue to report strongly in the coming days."
Asian shares recouped some of their earlier losses on Thursday after China's growth and inflation data eased concerns about further tightening measures from Beijing.
Property plays in Shanghai turned higher after the data, while Agriculture Bank of China had a disappointing debut.
"Developments in 2Q10 (in China) indicate that our base-case 'Goldilocks' scenario - featuring strong growth and benign inflation outlook - remains on track, despite a
faster than originally envisaged moderation in growth," said Morgan Stanley in a note to clients.
The Dow ended up 3.70 points at 10 366.72 on Wednesday, while the Hang Seng has ended down 95 points to 20 465.34.
- I-Net Bridge
By 09:31 local time the JSE all share index was down by 0.48%, with platinum counters moving southwards by 1.03% and resources by 0.93%, but golds bucked the trend to collect 0.38%. Industrials lost 0.10%, while banks were down by 0.46% and financials by 0.32%.
The rand was bid at R7.57 to the dollar, from R7.51 at the JSE's last close. Gold was quoted at $1 209.78 a troy ounce from $1 209.83/oz at the JSE's previous close, while platinum was at $1 525.50/oz from $1 527.50/oz before.
US stock futures are starting to edge down, after markets had a mixed performance on Thursday.
Analyst from Afrifocus, Ferdi Heyneke, said that global conditions remain volatile, which is affecting sentiment, though there are some stocks, like BAT and gold counters, bucking the trend.
He says a feature of local activity is that gains are coming through on positive news, but then profit taking sets in thereafter. The positive trend is also being impinged by the regular doses of bad news.
Heyneke says the key news to watch today is the announcement that Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation (NTT), one of the largest global telecommunications service providers, has made a £2.1bn bid to acquire Dimension Data.
Shares in the global specialist IT services and solutions provider Dimension Data Holdings [JSE:DDT] rocketed 20% in early trade.
The picture from overseas remains cloudy, however.
For Thursday's opening, IG Markets is calling the FTSE flat at 5254, the DAX off 6 at 6204 and the CAC down 2 at 3631. As it happened, the FTSE opened down 0.4%, or 21 points, after the open.
Dealers said the fact companies could be doing so well probably reflected the sharp restructuring they went through to cope with the global slump, making them
better able to cope with headwinds as the recovery slows. The key issue is whether they will be able to continue to increase earnings if things get tougher still.
"With the strong gains of the last few sessions, it was always going to slow down a little," said analyst James Hughes at CMC Markets.
ETX Capital trader Manoj Ladwa said that after the recent gains, investors would be hoping for just such a lead to sustain the advance.
"While the appetite for risk seems to be returning, the market will be looking to US firms to continue to report strongly in the coming days."
Asian shares recouped some of their earlier losses on Thursday after China's growth and inflation data eased concerns about further tightening measures from Beijing.
Property plays in Shanghai turned higher after the data, while Agriculture Bank of China had a disappointing debut.
"Developments in 2Q10 (in China) indicate that our base-case 'Goldilocks' scenario - featuring strong growth and benign inflation outlook - remains on track, despite a
faster than originally envisaged moderation in growth," said Morgan Stanley in a note to clients.
The Dow ended up 3.70 points at 10 366.72 on Wednesday, while the Hang Seng has ended down 95 points to 20 465.34.
- I-Net Bridge
