Publications
Partners
Johannesburg - South African stocks closed in negative territory on Thursday, tracking softer markets in the US and Europe.
By 17:00 the JSE all share index gave up 0.63%, with resources down 1.10%. Gold miners were 1.47% lower and platinum miners were off 0.91%. Banks declined 0.67%, financials eased 0.57% and industrials surrendered 0.17%.
The rand was bid at R7.45 to the dollar, from R7.38 at the JSE's close on Wednesday. Gold was quoted at $1 102.22 a troy ounce from $1 119.60/oz at the JSE's last close. Platinum was at $1 586/oz from $1 588.60/oz at the JSE's last close.
A local equities dealer said: "We saw a flat start, similar to yesterday, with global markets unsure about direction.
"The local bourse drifted into the positive in the early afternoon, but then retracted into negative territory tracking global markets, and amid a little bit of profit taking," he said.
Dow Jones Newswires reported that US stocks opened lower on Thursday following a smaller-than-expected drop in weekly jobless and as concerns over tightening in China weighed.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 27 points, or 0.3%, to 10541, in early trading.
The declines in materials came on renewed worries over how US companies, especially in the materials sector, might be impacted if China has to put more brakes on its growth. The concerns were reignited by the report of a higher-than-expected 2.7% rise in Chinese CPI for February. China also said industrial production during the first two months of the year expanded 20.7% from a year earlier, picking up from an 18.5% rise in December and higher than the 19.5% rise economists had expected.
Data released from China on Thursday also showed the rapid growth in its bank lending and investment spending slowed in February, a sign that the government's gradual withdrawal of stimulus policies in recent months is starting to have an effect on the real economy.
Among US reports, the number of idled US workers applying for jobless benefits fell by 6 000 last week, a positive sign for the labour market and the economy, although the weekly decline was smaller than the 9 000 drop economists had expected.
However, there was an unexpected narrowing in the US trade gap. The Commerce Department reported the US deficit in international trade of goods and services decreased 6.6% to $37.29bn in January, lower than Wall Street expectations for a $41.0bn shortfall.
- I-Net Bridge
