JSE firms on bargains and rand

The JSE remained stronger at noon on Wednesday as investors put aside bubbling concerns over Japan and concentrated on bargain-hunting instead.

|||

The JSE remained stronger at noon on Wednesday as investors put aside bubbling concerns over Japan and concentrated on bargain-hunting instead.

“We are bouncing back from oversold levels,” said Mpho Mojalefa, a trader at BJM Private Client Services, adding that the rand was playing a part in the local market's strength.

By 12:04 local time, the JSE all-share index was up 0.95%, with platinum miners gaining 1.53%, resources raising 1.02% and gold counters firming 0.88%. Industrials were 0.98% higher, financials added 0.72% and banks rose 0.87%.

The rand was bid at 7.00 to the dollar from 6.94 at the JSE's close on Tuesday. Gold was quoted at US$1,399.57 a troy ounce from US$1,403.11/oz at the JSE's previous close, while platinum was at $1,697.00/oz from $1,708.00/oz before.

“We are likely to see more volatility this week. I don't think we are out of the woods yet,” Mojalefa said.

Dow Jones Newswires reported that European stocks rose on Wednesday, taking their lead from a rebound in Asian markets, with autos leading the advance as investors took the opportunity to buy back into recently battered stocks.

By 11:10 SA time, the Stoxx Europe 600 index was up 0.7% at 268.05, London's FTSE 100 index was up 0.1% at 5,699.23 and Paris's CAC-40 was 0.3% higher at 3,793.23. Frankfurt's DAX outperformed the rest of the European markets, however, and was up 1.1% at 6,722.38. Traders noted that the DAX is one of the most closely linked of the European indexes to Japan, given its high levels of trade with the country and its exposure to nuclear power.

“While markets will continue to be nervous in the face of uncertainty about the possibility of further leaks from damaged nuclear facilities, we remain positive on the outlook for global growth and for equity markets in general and we do not see the catastrophe in Japan as having a negative impact on the medium-term growth prospects of the world economy,” said Exane BNP Paribas.

Despite the generally positive tone and a calmer assessment of the Japanese situation, traders noted that the situation in Libya and the Middle East remained unstable, as tensions in Bahrain escalated. At the same time, European sovereign debt concerns remained on investors' minds, particularly after Moody's downgraded Portugal's long-term government bond ratings.

On the JSE, Anglo American (AGL) rose 2.24 rand to 339.74 rand, BHP Billiton (BIL) gained 2.40 rand to 253.00 rand and Sasol (SOL) jumped 5.94 rand or 1.68% to 358.89 rand.

Among gold miners, Harmony (HAR) firmed 1.36 rand or 1.63% to 84.76 rand and Gold Fields (GFI) added 1.38 rand or 1.18% to 118.63 rand.

Angloplat (AMS) advanced 10.63 rand or 1.69% to 640.73 rand, Impala Platinum (AMP) firmed 2.71 rand or 1.44% to 190.40 rand and Eastern Platinum (EPS) surged 67 cents or 7.42% to 9.70 rand.

Diversified miner Exxaro (EXX) collected 3.29 rand or 2.33% to 144.29 rand and African Rainbow (ARI) was 4.50 rand or 2.34% higher at 196.50 rand.

Kumba Iron Ore (KIO) picked up 6.00 rand or 1.45% to 421.00 rand.

In the industrial sector, SABMiller (SAB) inched up 3.00 rand or 1.36% to 224.40 rand, and Barloworld (BAW) gained 96 cents or 1.41% to 68.89 rand.

Mobile phone operator MTN Group (MTN) climbed 2.90 rand or 2.33% to 127.45 rand.

Banking group Capitec (CPI) rallied 7.00 rand or 4.93% to 149.00 rand, FirstRand (FSR) rose 27 cents or 1.48% to 18.55 rand and ABIL (ABL) gained 1.01 rand or 2.95% to 35.20 rand.

In the retail sector, Lewis (LEW) jumped 2.00 rand or 3.08% to 67.00 rand.

Construction group M&R Holdings (MUR) advanced 62 cents or 2.52% to 25.22 rand.

Coal mining group Coal of Africa (CZA) edged up nine cents or 1.04% to 8.74 rand. The company on Wednesday announced a headline loss per share of 8.98 cents for the half-year period ended December 2010, from 6.79 cents previously.

It noted a basic loss of 11.25 cents, from a prior loss of 12.30 cents or AU$57.37 million, from AU$41.42 million.

Revenue from the sale of coal for the six months totalled AU$93.386 million, but the group pointed to a pre-tax loss AU$73.48 million versus AU$39.52 million in 2009.

Foneworx Holdings (FWX) plunged six cents or 5.41% to 1.05 rand. The company on Wednesday reported interim diluted earnings per share of 7.26 cents compared with 7.21 cents previously.

Interim headline earnings per share were reported at 7.29 cents compared with 6.86 cents before.

Revenue for the group increased by 0.9% to 46.2 million rand from 45.8 million rand in the previous corresponding period, while gross profit decreased from 28.8 million rand to 27.2 million rand, a 5.6% decrease from the previous corresponding period. - I-Net Bridge

Source: http://www.iol.co.za/jse-firms-on-bargains-and-rand-1.1042600

Incineration Economic policy Savings rates Guantánamo Bay Joey Barton Supermarkets