Lacklustre JSE ends up

The JSE ended a fraction firmer, led by resources, but lacking no clear direction amid thin trade volumes.

|||

The JSE ended a fraction firmer on Monday, led by resources, but lacking no clear direction amid thin trade volumes.

A local trader said: "It has been a rather uninspiring day with no real direction amid thin volumes following a decent run last week. The JSE opened in positive territory this morning, tracking markets in Asia, and then drifted with commodity stocks mostly firmer. The US market has opened in positive territory, but nothing to write home about."

At its close, the JSE all-share index rose 0.16%, with resources climbing 0.63%. Gold miners lost 0.15%, while platinum miners declined 0.77%. Banks fell 0.78% and financials were 0.43% lower, but industrials were flat.

The rand was bid at 6.69 to the dollar from 6.75 at the JSE's close on Friday. Gold was quoted at US$1,435.53 a troy ounce from US$1,422.90/oz at the JSE's previous close, while platinum was at $1,785.50/oz, from $1,768.00/oz previously.

Dow Jones Newswires reported that US stocks edged slightly higher early on Monday as investors looked to extend a two-week winning streak in the major indexes.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 23 points, or 0.2%, to 12,400.

With no major economic data on Monday, investor attention is focused on the several US Federal Reserve officials scheduled to speak this week, highlighted by chairman Ben Bernanke tonight at 19:15 EDT. Also on the docket are Atlanta Federal Reserve president Dennis Lockhart and Chicago Federal Reserve president Charles Evans on Monday and Minneapolis Federal Reserve president Narayana Kocherlakota on Tuesday.

"If the economy is growing, if we're seeing inflation popping up, rates will eventually go higher. But the question is whether the economy is strong enough to handle it. The word I'd be concerned about is 'stagflation'," Jay Suskind, senior vice-president at Duncan-Williams said. He noted that, for many investors, the gains in commodities and gasoline prices counterbalance recent progress on unemployment.

On the JSE, Anglo American (AGL) advanced 4.80 rand or 1.37% to 356 rand and BHP Billiton (BIL) rose 3.50 rand or 1.29% to 273.90 rand. But Sasol (SOL) fell 2.25 rand to 385 rand after the stock went ex-dividend.

Among gold counters, AngloGold Ashanti (ANG) lost 1.80 rand to 328.70 rand.

Impala Platinum (IMP) declined 1.12 rand to 199.74 rand, while Angloplat (AMS) dropped 10.90 rand or 1.56% to 687 rand and Aquarius (AQP) collected 98 cents or 2.58% to 39 rand. Lonmin (LON) was up 2.02 rand or 1.08% to 188.50 rand.

Diversified miner African Rainbow (ARI) firmed 1.89 rand to 224.89 rand and steel producer ArcelorMittal (ACL) rose 1.46 rand or 1.63% to 91.16 rand. Kumba Iron Ore (KIO) dropped a rand to 479 rand.

Coal of Africa (CZA) rocketed 87 cents or 9.85% to 9.70 rand. The company announced on Monday that the integrated water use licence for the company's Vele Colliery had been granted by the Department of Water Affairs. The Vele coking coal project is located in Limpopo.

The application was lodged on November 1 2009, and CoAL has since been in constant interaction with government officials in order to progress its approval.

Among industrial stocks, Barloworld (BAW) slipped 1.60 rand or 2.11% to 74.40 rand, Bidvest (BVT) wavered 1.58 rand or 1.04% to 150.41 rand, and Imperial (IPL) shipped 2.25 rand or 1.91% to 115.41 rand. TigerBrands (TBS), meanwhile, gathered 1.68 rand to 180.68 rand.

Paper and pulp group Sappi (SAP) gave up 32 cents to 36 rand. The company said on Monday an offering of US$680 million, in euros and dollars, in senior secured notes was to be issued in two series due 2018 and 2021.

Reunert (RLO) moved 83 cents or 1.36% lower to 60.42 rand.

Banking group Standard Bank (SBK) shed 1.61 rand or 1.53% to 103.90 rand and Nedbank (NED) lost 1.04 rand to 141.96 rand. Both banks were ex-dividend today, a trader said.

Retailer JD Group (JDG) declined 1.14 rand or 2.35% to 47.45 rand, but Truworths (TRU) rose 2.00 rand or 2.78% to 74 rand and Foschini (FOS) climbed 1.05 rand or 1.2% higher to 88.90 rand.

Metorex (MTX) surged 35 cents or 5.43% to 6.80 rand after the diversified mining group on Monday said its total group copper mineral resources increased by 44.9% from 3.27 million tonnes to 4.74 million tonnes of contained copper in its 2010 financial year.

Metorex said the increase was driven largely by the Dilala East and Lubembe deposits in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The Dilala East project is a greenfields site situated in the highly prospective Kolwezi Klippe structure of the Congolese Copperbelt while Lubembe is located in southern Katanga province and within a few kilometres of the Zambian border.

In construction stocks, Group Five (GRF) added 58 cents or 2.09% to 28.27 rand, Basil Read (BSR) improved 35 cents or 3.04% to 11.85 rand, and Stefanutti Stocks (SSK) pocketed 50 cents or 4.88% at 10.75 rand. The company said on Monday that it anticipated headline earnings per share to be 10% to 20% lower for the year ended February, from headline earnings per share of 224.34 cents previously.

It said that it expected earnings per share to be 10% to 20% lower than 220.14 cents in 2009. Group revenue for 2009 rose 18% to 7.5 billion rand, while operating profit was up 28% to 500.7 million rand.

Stefanutti announced a final dividend for the year of 45 cents and 70 cents for the full year, from 58 cents in 2009.

Pretoria Portland Cement (PPC) added 57 cents or 2.36% to 24.75 rand.

Media group Naspers (NPN) dropped 2.50 rand to 373.50 rand, and Caxton (CAT) lost 74 cents or 5.3% to 13.21 rand. - I-Net Bridge

Source: http://www.iol.co.za/lacklustre-jse-ends-up-1.1051997

Children Social care Belarus The US embassy cables Andrew Cole Liverpool