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Johannesburg - The JSE was trading in flat territory at noon on Wednesday tracking international markets.
A local trader said: "It's not a bad market at all. We might be coming to a situation in which some stocks are over bought and so a bit of profit-taking may occur in the short term, however generally it seems as though the general momentum will continue."
At 12:13 local time, the JSE All Share [JSE:J203] index was flat (0.04%). Platinums rose 0.56%, and resources lifted 0.35% however gold shares declined 0.38%.
Financials elevated 0.30%, and banks generated 0.29% while industrials lost 0.32%.
The rand was unchanged from 8.09 to the dollar at the JSE's close on Tuesday. Gold traded at US$1,644.12 a troy ounce from US$1,635.57 at the JSE's previous close, while platinum was quoted at US$1,491.50/oz, from US$1,463/oz at the previous close.
Dow Jones Newswires reported that European stocks ticked between small losses and gains on Wednesday as investors weighed decent European economic data and mixed economic news.
Although investors have become more positive, particularly with regard to equities of late, there is some trepidation as eurozone issues continue to rumble on. At 12:13 local time, London's FTSE 100 was hovering in flat territory (0.06) and Paris's CAC-40 was up 0.55%.
Markets are also uncertain due to the prospect of key, market-moving developments on Thursday including sovereign-bond auctions for Italy and Spain and the European Central Bank's interest rate announcement.
The preliminary estimate for 2011 German gross domestic product indicated that the country's economy grew at a robust 3% pace in 2011, from 3.6% in 2010.
The leaders of Germany and Italy are set to meet on Wednesday to discuss the eurozone debt crisis ahead of a European Union summit on January 30, while talks over restructuring Greek debt may be within reach, according to Olli Rehn, the vice president of the European Commission.
Meanwhile, investors await the ECB rate announcement on Thursday.
"Having launched a myriad of policy measures in December, we no longer expect the ECB to cut interest rates [by 0.25 percentage points], but to stay on hold until March with no new announcements on ECB bond purchases. We continue to believe that the ECB will only launch quantitative easing when there are clear signs of deflation risks," Nomura said.
Earlier Asian stock markets were mixed, with resources rising sharply in Sydney on strong copper imports from China, though exporters in Seoul and Tokyo pulled back as sentiment remained fragile amid continued caution over the eurozone debt crisis.
Japan's Nikkei 225 ended up 0.3%, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index had lifted 0.78%.
A local trader said: "It's not a bad market at all. We might be coming to a situation in which some stocks are over bought and so a bit of profit-taking may occur in the short term, however generally it seems as though the general momentum will continue."
At 12:13 local time, the JSE All Share [JSE:J203] index was flat (0.04%). Platinums rose 0.56%, and resources lifted 0.35% however gold shares declined 0.38%.
Financials elevated 0.30%, and banks generated 0.29% while industrials lost 0.32%.
The rand was unchanged from 8.09 to the dollar at the JSE's close on Tuesday. Gold traded at US$1,644.12 a troy ounce from US$1,635.57 at the JSE's previous close, while platinum was quoted at US$1,491.50/oz, from US$1,463/oz at the previous close.
Dow Jones Newswires reported that European stocks ticked between small losses and gains on Wednesday as investors weighed decent European economic data and mixed economic news.
Although investors have become more positive, particularly with regard to equities of late, there is some trepidation as eurozone issues continue to rumble on. At 12:13 local time, London's FTSE 100 was hovering in flat territory (0.06) and Paris's CAC-40 was up 0.55%.
Markets are also uncertain due to the prospect of key, market-moving developments on Thursday including sovereign-bond auctions for Italy and Spain and the European Central Bank's interest rate announcement.
The preliminary estimate for 2011 German gross domestic product indicated that the country's economy grew at a robust 3% pace in 2011, from 3.6% in 2010.
The leaders of Germany and Italy are set to meet on Wednesday to discuss the eurozone debt crisis ahead of a European Union summit on January 30, while talks over restructuring Greek debt may be within reach, according to Olli Rehn, the vice president of the European Commission.
Meanwhile, investors await the ECB rate announcement on Thursday.
"Having launched a myriad of policy measures in December, we no longer expect the ECB to cut interest rates [by 0.25 percentage points], but to stay on hold until March with no new announcements on ECB bond purchases. We continue to believe that the ECB will only launch quantitative easing when there are clear signs of deflation risks," Nomura said.
Earlier Asian stock markets were mixed, with resources rising sharply in Sydney on strong copper imports from China, though exporters in Seoul and Tokyo pulled back as sentiment remained fragile amid continued caution over the eurozone debt crisis.
Japan's Nikkei 225 ended up 0.3%, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index had lifted 0.78%.
