Platinum selloff trips JSE but oil shows signs of life

SOUTH African stocks ended lower on Friday as traders offloaded platinum shares after Impala Platinum announced in the previous session it would be restructuring one of its key mines.

Impala shares dropped 3.5% to close at R71.71, with Anglo Platinum falling 1.7% to R371.5.

Impala said on Thursday it would revamp its Rustenburg mines to boost productivity. It also said it wanted to sell its Marula mine in Limpopo and would stop expansion at its Mimosa mine in Zimbabwe because of an export tax.

“The market is hating it because it is going to delay some of the capex. A number of shafts will be delayed for a year or two,” said Gary Booysen, head of training at Vunani Private Clients.

The JSE Top 40 index ended 0.28% down at 47 028, and the broader All Share index was up 0.02% at 53 344.

Activity was slightly up, with about 184 million shares changing hands, compared to last year’s daily average of 183 million, according to preliminary bourse data.

Wall Street stocks fell slightly as weak US growth data made investors cautious, but European shares broke multi-year records ahead of the European Central Bank’s injection this month of à60- billion to spur growth.

The FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares was up 0.27% after reaching its highest level since November 2007. It has surged more than 14% this year, its strongest start since benchmarks were created in 1986.

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 0.20% at 18 178.49. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index was down 0.05% at 2 109.65, and the Nasdaq Composite index was 0.17% softer at 4 979.40.

US GDP expanded 2.2% in the fourth quarter, revised down from 2.6% estimated the previous month, the Commerce Department said. The number barely beat economists’ forecasts for 2.1% growth but slowed from a 5% rate in the third quarter.

“You are sitting at highs and obviously some bit of good news at least is built into those highs and you need something else to get you over the hump,” said Bill Stone, chief investment strategist at PNC Wealth Management in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

The MSCI All Country World Equity index was flat but still up 3.8% since the start of the year.

Europe’s central bank is expected to give details at its meeting this week on its January 22 decision to embark on a securitiesbuying programme to fend off deflation and revive the economy.

Brent was up 2% at $61.26 and headed for its first monthly gain since July, helped by an improving demand outlook and supply outages. —