JSE hit by triple whammy
Sep 12 2007 18:10
Johannesburg - The JSE closed 127 points lower on Wednesday as profit taking forced the market to pull back, after it closed over 600 points in the black on Wednesday, according to a local trader.
He added that a firmer rand and slightly lower commodity prices also led to a dip in the JSE's all share.
The JSE all share closed 0.44% lower as financials dipped 1.16%, and banks shed 1.65%. Industrials lost 0.36% and resources eased 0.21%, but the gold and platinum mining indices climbed 2.83% and 0.9% respectively.
The rand was bid at R7.14/US$ from R7.18 when the JSE closed on Tuesday, while gold was quoted at US$707.55 a troy ounce from $706.90 at the JSE's last close.
"We have had a lot of volatility over the last two months, and we don't expect to see it go away any time soon. American markets are waiting for US Federal Reserve chairperson's Ben Bernanke's announcement on a potential interest rate cut next week, to find direction," said the trader.
The trader added that locally, September futures close out next week Thursday, and that it wasn't unusual to see "huge volatility" before that happens.
Anglogold (ANG) climbed 3.9% to R311.69, while Harmony (HAR) shot up 5.12% to R79 and Goldfields (GFI) added 1% to R121.45.
Anglo American fell R3.45 to R407, BHP Billiton (BIL) lost 1.22% to R209.34 and Sasol (SOL) gave up 49c to R294.01.
Exxaro (EXX) perked up 3.01% to R77 and Kumba Iron Ore (KIO) rallied 2.99% to R241.
Anglo Platinum (AMS) added 2.51% to R1 020 and Impala Platinum (IMP) was off 1c to R215.99.
Murray and Roberts (MUR) slumped 51c to R88.99, but Wilson Bayly Holmes-Ovcon (WBO) advanced 3.41% to R115.30.
SABMiller (SAB) lost 2.19% to R191.70, and Distell (DST) eased 50c to R64.
Tiger Brands (TBS) surged 1.6% to R191.
MTN Group (MTN) retreated 59c to R111.30 and Telkom (TKG) pulled back 1.34% to R183.50.
Absa (ASA) lost R1.01 to R125.99, Firstrand (FSR) weakened 1% to R22.85, and Standard Bank (SBK) fell 2.17% to R100.40.
Liberty Holdings (LBH) was up R1.99 to R215 and Santam (SNT) gained 2.89% to R114.
Metropolitan Holdings (MET) edged up 2.79% to R14.75. On Wednesday it reported a 35% increase in diluted core headline earnings per share to 61.28c for the six months ended June from 45.26c a year ago. An interim dividend of 36c per share was declared, up 24% from the previous year's 29c.
Makalani Holdings (MKL) was 1.61% higher at R94.50. It on Wednesday reported headline earnings per share of 367c for the year ended June from 206c a year ago.
- I-Net Bridge
