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Johannesburg - South African stocks opened flat on Thursday amid mixed Asian markets, while US data on jobless claims out later is expected to liven things up, according to a local trader.
By 09:12, the JSE all share index had added just 0.18% with resources up 0.25%, but gold stocks down 0.35%, with platinum miners flat, up 0.07%. Banks were 0.39% firmer, financials edged 0.51% higher and industrials were up 0.07%.
The rand was last bid at R8.05 to the dollar from R8.04 when the JSE closed on Wednesday. Gold was quoted at $954.25/oz a troy ounce from $960.12/oz at the JSE's last close, and platinum was at $1 267/oz, from $1 257/oz at its previous close.
A local trader said: "The market is fairly mixed this morning, amid a mixed bag in Asia. We might see a slightly firmer JSE initially, pulling back later with resources easing after a slight rally yesterday.
"Data is expected to come out of the US later on jobless claims. Markets will probably move on that," the trader said.
Dow Jones Newswires reports that European stocks are expected to open marginally higher on Thursday, with oil and mining stocks again set to benefit from the surge in commodity prices, but doubts remain about the sustainability of this rally.
Commodity prices have been rising sharply lately, with base metals and crude oil prices all hitting 2009 highs, and this has underpinned the idea the global economy is starting to stabilise.
However, this could be a double-edged sword, as the rise in crude prices, in particular, "which have now pushed above $72/barrel could be precisely the sort of trigger to derail any hopes of a relatively quick economic turnaround," said Matt Buckland, a dealer at CMC Markets.
Buckland expected Europe's major indexes to rise at the open, with London's FTSE 100 index set to gain 10 points to 4446.
Still, volumes could be limited on Thursday with the earnings calendar limited, but "the US weekly jobless claims will be under scrutiny after last week's divergence in payrolls versus the unemployment data, noted Buckland.
Asian share markets were mixed on Thursday, as a continued oil price rally raised concerns over inflation. Commodity stocks rose for yet another day though, led by steel shares.
Japan's Nikkei 225 closed down 0.1%, after briefly breaching the 10,000 mark for its highest level since October 8, though South Korea's Kospi Composite closed up 0.3%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index was last seen up 0.5%, reversing an early decline.
Overall, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 24.04 points, or 0.3%, to 8739.02. Following an emerging pattern for June, the Dow crossed the break-even line for 2009 only to close below it. The broad Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 3.28, or 0.4%, to 939.15, finding staunch resistance at the 950 level again.
The crude oil futures market continues to push ahead on Thursday, after government data showed US supplies unexpectedly dropping and demand picking up.
- I-Net Bridge
