Johannesburg - The JSE lifted on Friday at noon but was still on course for its worst monthly performance since May 2010‚ with all the key indices seen finish in negative territory in June.
At 12:35‚ the All Share [JSE:J203] index was up 0.85% to 38 417.12 points‚ with the blue-chip Top 40 - (Tradeable) [JSE:J200] index gaining 0.77%. The gold and platinum indices lifted 2.28% and 1.64% respectively.
“Our local bourse is following on from stronger US markets overnight and better Asian markets this morning. A rebound in consumer spending and a lower US jobless claims figure is helping create some positive sentiment in global markets‚” said Shaun Murison‚ market analyst at IG SA.
Leading European markets turned weaker at noon‚ with UK’s FTSE 100 losing 0.12%.
Among individual shares on the JSE‚ Gold Fields (GFI) leapt 4.35% to R49.68‚ Impala Platinum (IMP) recovered 3.25% to R92.12 and Amplats (AMS) was up 1.70% to R285.33.
Remgro (REM) jumped 4.03% to R187.20 after the investment group said it had resolved all three of its tax disputes with the South African Revenue Service.
Discovery Holdings (DSY) was up 2.01% to R84.16 and Super Group (SPG) lifted 3.47% to R23.85.
Aspen Pharmacare (APN) rallied 7.30% to R225.47‚ a record high‚ after SA’s biggest generic drug maker on Thursday announced the $1bn acquisition of MSD’s Dutch manufacturing plant for active pharmaceutical ingredients.