JSE inches up, boosted by mining shares

Top movers Graph of the day

FTSE/JSE Africa Index Series

STOCKS inched up yesterday, buoyed by mining shares as the US Federal Reserve’s decision to leave its benchmark lending rate unchanged boosted gold and platinum prices.

The benchmark JSE Top40 index was 0.21 percent firmer at 46 793.34 points while the all share index rose 0.3 percent to 53 223.98 points.

The bullion gained by about 1 percent, lifting 6.15 percent to R220.10.

which controls the world’s largest platinum producer, was the biggest winner among the blue chips, advancing 9.01 percent to R152.99 as platinum prices rose more

AngloGold Anglo American, Ashanti

than 2 percent to their highest level since July last year.

Trade was muted with around 224 million shares changing hands, compared with last year’s daily average of 290 million, according to preliminary bourse data.

Meanwhile, the yen surged yesterday after the Bank of Japan surprised markets by declining to boost its stimulus, battering Japanese stocks and briefly weighing on markets in the US and Europe.

Tokyo’s Nikkei stock index slumped 3.6 percent. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 0.06 percent to 18 030.08 points, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 gained 0.19 percent to 2 099.05 points.