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Johannesburg - The JSE was trading in positive terrain on Tuesday morning with all the main indices in the black.
Gold counters were leading the way‚ due to some renewed safe-haven investor demand for the metal.
Gold stocks slumped on Monday when the metal’s safe-haven appeal waned as the bail-out programme agreement in Cyprus calmed investors’ jitters.
European concerns continued to weigh on sentiment on Tuesday‚ albeit to a lesser degree.
At 9:25am‚ the JSE All Share [JSE:J203] index was 0.45% firmer at 40‚187.3 points and the blue-chip Top 40 - (Tradeable) [JSE:J200] index was up 0.47%.
Gold stocks recouped some of the ground lost on Monday‚ adding 0.74% after closing 2.37% weaker.
Platinum stocks and banks improved 0.66% and 0.72% respectively.
Asian markets were mostly lower on Tuesday‚ as Europe continued to weigh on sentiment‚ Dow Jones Newswires reported.
“Cyprus remained the focus for markets in Asia after Eurogroup head Jeroen Dijsselbloem on Monday said that the structure of the island’s rescue package could serve as a template for future bail-outs in region‚ according to media reports. Although Mr Dijsselbloem subsequently backed away from the comments‚ they had already put an end to the relief rally that followed Monday's bail-out agreement.”
The bailout is designed to safeguard all deposits below €100 000‚ while large depositors‚ including Russians‚ are set to bear a much higher burden.
“The involvement of large depositors is‚ however‚ restricted to Cyprus Popular Bank (Laiki Bank) and Bank of Cyprus‚ which are the two weakest institutions. Overall‚ this last-minute deal avoids the worst-case scenario of a potential bank and sovereign default and Cyprus exiting the euro‚” Barclays said in a note.
The Japanese Nikkei 225 ended 0.6% lower‚ while the Hong
Kong Hang Send index was up 0.11% at 9:10am local time.
