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Johannesburg - The major indices on the JSE hardly moved on Friday as investor confidence remained low.
Some investors are however using the opportunity to buy top shares, which have recently dropped sharply for a variety of reasons.
Among them are well-known stocks such as Remgro [JSE:REM], Impala Platinum [JSE:IMP] and Pick n Pay [JSE:PIK], which made strong moves on Friday after losing value over the past month and even longer.
The biggest moves came in the platinum sector, and the Platinum index gained 4.29% after the platinum price recovered almost 1.5%.
However, the overall indices on the JSE moved only marginally with the All-share index trading only 0.08% higher at 51 117 points points by midday, while the Top 40 index was at that stage 0.055% lower at 44 921 points.
Most of the major indices were only slightly higher, except for the Resources index which was 0.15% lower by mid-morning. The Industrial index gained 0.01%, the Financial index was 0.17% higher and the Gold index traded 1.07% stronger on the back of a firmer gold price.
The stronger rand, which traded at R12.92 against a softer dollar as investors started to move on from the political uncertainties earlier in the week, put a damper on the dual-listed shares which earn less in rand from their foreign operations if the local unit is strong.
The star performer was Impala Platinum, which gained 4.63% to R35.96 after the platinum price rose 1.44% to $930.40 per ounce. Before Friday’s turnaround, Impala lost 6.81% over the previous week, 21.7% over the previous 30 days and 36.8% over the past 90 days.
The stronger platinum price also supported Anglo American Platinum [JSE:AMS], which traded 4.23% higher at R304.45. The share lost almost 17% over the past month. Lonmin [JSE:LON], which lost almost half of its value over the past month, was 2.44% stronger at R10.51 at mid-morning.
Friday’s move in the platinum price was also a big turnaround as the metal dropped almost 10% over the previous 90 days.
Remgro, which is almost 10% lower over the past month and 19% down over the past year, gained 1.99% to trade at R206.88.
Naspers [JSE:NPN], which dropped last week in response to the global sell-off in technology stocks, has shaken off uncertainties and is also aiming higher. The share price, which reached a high of R2 804.50 earlier this year, traded 0.55% stronger at R2 856.00.
Pick n Pay, which was at a 52-week low of R55.21 earlier this week, lifted 2.12% to R56.38 on Friday. The share lost more than 12% over the past 30 days and more than 18% over the past 90 days.
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