JSE turns around at lunch

The JSE turned around during the course of the morning and was around a quarter of a percentage point firmer by midday, led higher by industrials and a marginal improvement in resources. Retailers were also a strong feature.

Shortly before noon, the JSE all share index was up 0.22%, with industrials 0.59% firmer and resources 0.13% higher. Gold miners were 0.44% lower and platinum miners were off 0.91%. Banks were off 0.41% and financials eased 0.34%.

Gold was quoted at $1,108.73 a troy ounce from $1,119.60/oz at the JSE's last close. Platinum was at $1,591/oz from $1,588.60/oz at the JSE's last close.

"The market is a bit of a mixed bag. Resources are slightly higher and retailers are strong. Overall the market is up, but not dramatically so," said a local trader.

He added that the slightly weaker rand is attracting buying in the likes of Anglos, Billiton and Richemont, but here are some areas of the market where there is some consolidation after the recent strong run. We have seen a pause in the banking stocks, which have had a good run in recent days. The appetite for risk still looks positive, but I won't be surprised to see some consolidation," he said.

Dow Jones Newswires reported European stocks were flat and in London the FTSE 100 was also flat, coming off lows.

Asian stock markets ended mixed on Thursday, with several markets paring gains as resource stocks fell after Chinese economic data sparked fresh worries of further tightening measures from Beijing.

On the JSE, Anglo American advanced R4.86, or 1.64%, to R301.40 and BHP Billiton added 20 cents to R247.70. However, Sasol eased R2.89, or just over 1%, to R284.11.