Johannesburg - The JSE closed lower on Monday, but managed to
recover some of its losses in trade interrupted by a technical glitch
and which lacked direction.
Trading only started at 10:30, 90 minutes later than its normal 09:00 opening,
but the market closed at the normal time despite this delay.
At
its close, the JSE All-share index lost 0.29%, with resources 0.65 weaker. Platinum
miners gained 0.89%, and gold miners rose 0.43%. But banks shed 0.54%, financials declined 0.13% and industrials were down slightly 0.03%.
The rand was bid at R7.60 to the dollar from R7.57 at the JSE's last close. Gold was
quoted at $1 198.41 a troy ounce from $1 208.54/oz at the JSE's previous
close, while platinum was at $1 520.50/oz from $1 534/oz before.
A
trader said the local bourse started the day 200 points weaker, but in the absence of
sellers it crept back and regained some composure.
"In the absence of sellers, the market crept back," the trader said, pointing out that
trading volumes were thin.
Michelle Joubert, spokeswoman for the JSE, said the market has been fairly quiet today.
"We are closing at the normal time."
The JSE was delayed at the opening bell due to the exchange's "international
connectivity on the equities market".
"The JSE's international links are provided by MTN and the two companies are refining the
analysis of the cause," the company said.
The trader said investors would keep an eye on earnings reports in the US, searching for
clues whether US consumers were "alive and well", meaning spending.
Dow Jones Newswires reported that US stocks were mixed on Monday, boosted by technology
companies benefiting from analyst upgrades, but gains were limited as
investors moved cautiously ahead of the start of second-quarter earnings.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average edged down 5 points, or 0.1%, to 10192.
The Nasdaq Composite index gained 0.1% to 2199, boosted by several upgrades to
technology companies, and the Standard & Poor's 500-share index was down slight more
than one point to 1076, boosted by the technology sector but weighed by
material and industrial stocks.
Investors said the market's direction would likely meander until Alcoa provides the first
peak at second-quarter earnings.
"It's really a bit of a watch-and-see point right here, right at the beginning of earnings
at and some very unclear technical levels," said Robert Phipps, a
director at Per Stirling Capital Management.
He
predicted second-quarter earnings could show improving business strength and yet
still disappoint investors.
"Earnings are going to come out fairly strong," he said, but
"the risk is that expectations
are a lot higher than they've been for the last six months."
Elsewhere, most Asian markets advanced on Monday as strong Chinese exports data and
extended gains on Wall Street aided sentiment in the region.
- I-Net Bridge