JSE slumps on poor US data

Johannesburg - The JSE pulled back on Wednesday, giving up earlier gains as global markets dictated direction and US economic
data took centre stage.

The JSE all share index shed 0.33%, as platinum miners plunged 2.47%, but gold miners rose 0.94%, and resources eked out 0.02%. Banks weakened 1.42%, financials lost 0.85% and industrials edged down 0.41%.

The rand was bid at R7.33 to the dollar unchanged from R7.31 at the JSE's close on Tuesday. Gold was quoted at $1 161.05 a troy ounce from $1 159.64/oz at the JSE's previous close, while platinum was at $1 536.50/oz from $1 536.00/oz before.

A trader said the local market failed to capitalise on earlier gains as worse than expected US durable goods data put a damper on global marketa.

The trader said investors were tracking global equities as the Standard & Poor's 500-stock index struggled to break through the key level.

She said the market also seemed to be consolidating after strong performance in the past two weeks.

Dow Jones newswires reports that US stocks flitted between small gains and losses on Wednesday as investors worried about mixed earnings reports and a drop in demand for US manufactured durable goods.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was off 14 points or 0.1% in early trading, at 10 523, while the Standard & Poor's 500-stock index was off 0.4% at 1109 and the Nasdaq Composite lost 0.5% at 2277.

The markets responded tepidly to a drop in demand for US manufactured durable goods, casting more doubt on the strength of the economic recovery ahead of a Federal Reserve report later in the day.

Durable-goods orders fell 1.0% in June to a seasonally adjusted $190.5bn, the Commerce Department said on Wednesday, worse than an expected 1.1% gain. The drop was the second in a row, the latest sign of slowing manufacturing-sector expansion.  

  - I-Net Bridge