JSE picks up in late trade

AFTER a fairly quiet day on the JSE yesterday, the local bourse lifted in late afternoon trade despite negative local retail sales figures released earlier in the day.

“The whole market is waiting to see what is going to happen in the polls in Greece this weekend. There was some intraday volatility but we did finish in positive territory‚” a local equities trader said.

Local retail sales growth retreated to 1% year on year in April — much lower than economists’ expectations — and from a revised 6,7% year on year in March, with sales of food and beverages and other household products static or dropping lower on the year.

At 5pm, the JSE all-share index was up 0,54% to 34 037,83 points‚ with resources gaining 0,7% and gold counters dipping 0,61%.

Platinum counters had a strong day‚ gaining 2,63%.

Financials were up 0,39%‚ banking stocks added 0,59% and industrials were 0,48% firmer.

On the JSE‚ Anglo American (AGL) was up R2 to R277, BHP Billiton (BIL) added 31c to R234,30, while Sasol (SOL) added R7, or 1,98%, to R361.

AngloGold Ashanti (ANG) was down R2,12 to R307,99 and Gold Fields (GFI) lost R1,42, or 1,23%, to R113,93, while Harmony Gold Mining (HAR) inched up 99c to R87,91.

In platinum stocks, Impala Platinum (IMP) was up R5,29, or 3,88%, to R141,69, while Aquarius Platinum (AQP) shed 32c, or 3,82%, to R8,05.

Exploration and mining company Coal of Africa (CZA) was up 23c, or 4,95%, to R4,88.

In industrials, British American Tobacco (BTI) gained R1,16 to R413,62, but Richemont (CFR) lost 8c to R46,47.

Futures gained ground again yesterday as platinum miners added 2,63% on the day, while European and US markets were mostly down.

Near-dated futures lifted by 0,47%, or 142 points, to 30 050.

The total number of contracts that exchanged hands was 63 006 from 42 673 on Tuesday.

Dow Jones Newswires reported that some markets were lower as news of weak US retail sales last month and a poor showing in euro-zone industrial output data in April weighed on sentiment. Investors would increasingly focus on the coming weekend’s Greek elections, the news wire reported.

South African maize futures ended weaker yesterday, tracking prices on the Chicago Board of Trade.

The near-dated July white maize contract shed R36 to R2 010 a ton, September white maize lost R30 to R2 049 a ton, and December white maize was down R27 to R2 100.

The near-dated July yellow maize contract dropped R43 to R1 990 a ton, the September yellow maize contract was off R26 to R2 029 a ton, while the December yellow maize contract lost R35 to R2 058 a ton.

The July wheat contract was down R38 to R2 922 a ton, September wheat lost R33 to R2 985 a ton and the December wheat contract dipped R33 to R2 940 a ton. I-Net Bridge