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Johannesburg - The JSE remained marginally weaker at noon amid cautious trade.
The platinum sector led the downside after Aquarius Platinum posted a loss of US$113 million in the six months to December 2011.
"Low volumes are pretty much the theme at this point, while trials and tribulations continue in Greece about its debt," said Nick Kunze, head of dealing at BJM Private Clients Services.
At 12:00 local time, the JSE All Share [JSE:J203] index was 0.21% in the red to 34,155.24 points, with the platinum sector down 1.11%, while resources shares shed 0.96% and the gold index lifted 0.20%.
Industrials edged up 0.24%, financials inched up 0.16%, and banks were up marginally at 0.13%.
The rand slipped to 7.60 to the US dollar, from 7.55 at the JSE's close on Wednesday. Gold was quoted at $1 735.16 a troy ounce from $1 745.89/oz at the JSE's previous close, while platinum was at $1 661/oz, from $1 659.51/oz before.
European stocks edged higher on Thursday, led by auto stocks following well-received earnings from Daimler, as investors awaited further news on Greece, Dow Jones Newswires reports.
The FTSE 100 index was 0.44% higher to 5,902 points at noon local time.
It seems the sticking point in overnight talks with Greek lawmakers was pension reform, but Greek Prime Minister Lucas Papademos had said he was aiming to conclude loan talks before the euro-group meeting in Brussels, scheduled for today.
"Another issue that has to be finalised is whether the European Central Bank will take part in any official sector involvement to complement the private sector involvement, thus improving debt sustainability in the country," said Goodbody Stockbrokers. "While we think such an action was highly unlikely under a Trichet-led ECB [European Central Bank], the performance of Mario Draghi thus far suggests that he will take a more constructive approach to the problem," it added.
Earlier in Asia, stock markets dropped as accelerating inflation in China eroded expectations of further near-term stimulus measures from Beijing.
China reported that its consumer price index rose 4.5% in January, up from 4.1% in December and topping expectations of a 4.1% rise.
Japan's Nikkei Stock Average fell 0.15% while China's Shanghai Composite Index was flat in choppy trade.
The platinum sector led the downside after Aquarius Platinum posted a loss of US$113 million in the six months to December 2011.
"Low volumes are pretty much the theme at this point, while trials and tribulations continue in Greece about its debt," said Nick Kunze, head of dealing at BJM Private Clients Services.
At 12:00 local time, the JSE All Share [JSE:J203] index was 0.21% in the red to 34,155.24 points, with the platinum sector down 1.11%, while resources shares shed 0.96% and the gold index lifted 0.20%.
Industrials edged up 0.24%, financials inched up 0.16%, and banks were up marginally at 0.13%.
The rand slipped to 7.60 to the US dollar, from 7.55 at the JSE's close on Wednesday. Gold was quoted at $1 735.16 a troy ounce from $1 745.89/oz at the JSE's previous close, while platinum was at $1 661/oz, from $1 659.51/oz before.
European stocks edged higher on Thursday, led by auto stocks following well-received earnings from Daimler, as investors awaited further news on Greece, Dow Jones Newswires reports.
The FTSE 100 index was 0.44% higher to 5,902 points at noon local time.
It seems the sticking point in overnight talks with Greek lawmakers was pension reform, but Greek Prime Minister Lucas Papademos had said he was aiming to conclude loan talks before the euro-group meeting in Brussels, scheduled for today.
"Another issue that has to be finalised is whether the European Central Bank will take part in any official sector involvement to complement the private sector involvement, thus improving debt sustainability in the country," said Goodbody Stockbrokers. "While we think such an action was highly unlikely under a Trichet-led ECB [European Central Bank], the performance of Mario Draghi thus far suggests that he will take a more constructive approach to the problem," it added.
Earlier in Asia, stock markets dropped as accelerating inflation in China eroded expectations of further near-term stimulus measures from Beijing.
China reported that its consumer price index rose 4.5% in January, up from 4.1% in December and topping expectations of a 4.1% rise.
Japan's Nikkei Stock Average fell 0.15% while China's Shanghai Composite Index was flat in choppy trade.
