[2008-07-10]  JSE rallies in tandem with world bourses
SOUTH African stocks ended sharply higher yesterday , rallying on the back of sustained strength in European markets while a slight rebound in commodity prices supported the mining sectors, traders said.

The all share index was ended up 1,44%. Resources added 1,78%, while the gold and platinum mining indices were up 1,51% and 1,17% respectively.

Banks recovered 1,96%, financials added 1,75% and industrials improved 0,80%.


Traders said Wall Street gains overnight sparked a rebound in Asia and Europe that spilled over to the local market. “Europe held on strong today and that kept the momentum going,” one trader said, and steady metal prices, with a firmer bias, sparked bargain-hunting and short-covering in the mining sector.

On the JSE’s resources index, Anglo American (AGL) was up R7,58, or 1,65%, at R466,59 and BHP Billiton (BIL) added R4,15, or 1,62%, to R260,80. Sasol (SOL) recovered R16,98, or 4,03%, to R437,99 despite an overnight retreat in the price of crude oil.

Among gold miners AngloGold Ashanti (ANG) added R3,79, or 1,52%, to R253,89, Gold Fields (GFI) was up R1, or 1,10%, at R92,30 and Harmony (HAR) rallied R2,06, or 2,37%, to R88,82. Platinum miner Angloplat (AMS) lost R7 to R1179. Brokerage house UBS Investment Research raised its target price for the share to R1500 from R1330, but left its 12-month rating unchanged at neutral. Impala Platinum (IMP) rose R6,41, or 2,54%, to R258,75, but Lonmin (LON) fell R1,83 to R409,17. Deutsche Securities upgraded its recommendation for the stock to buy from hold despite lower production. Kumba Iron Ore (KIO) edged up R1 to R288.


Elsewhere, brewer SABMiller (SAB) was up R2,96, or 1,79%, at R167,96, and Imperial Holdings (IPL) recouped R1,35, or 2,95%, to R47,10. MTN was up 27c at R128,49.

Among banks, Nedbank (NED) led the pack with a R2,78, or 3,14%, gain to R91,28 followed by FirstRand (FSR), up 40c, or 2,94%, at R14.

Financials were also in favour, with dual-listed Investec Limited (INP) rallying R1,93, or 4,60%, to R43,93 and Investec (INP) climbing R1,74, or 4,14%, to R43,80.

South African near-dated futures rallied yesterday on the back of stronger world markets with a slight recovery in commodity prices providing additional support for mining stocks. The near-dated Alsi contract closed 540 points, or 2,01%, higher at 26355. A total of 36464 Alsi contracts changed hands, compared with Tuesday’s 45433 contracts, a Safex official said.



South African white maize futures ended mixed yesterday with the in-delivery July contract posting modest gains after a sharp rise in exports last week, while other contracts continued to be pressured by the bearish weather outlook in the US, traders said.

One local trader said a jump in exports last week, as reported after the market closed on Tuesday, provided some buying support for the in-delivery July maize contract. Boosted by a massive order for Iran, local maize exports jumped to 59054 tons last week from 26957 tons the week before, with more than half it shipped to Iran. A continued bearish weather outlook in the US weighed on other stocks, but traders said the market was losing its downward momentum, and was likely to hover around these levels in the absence of fresh inputs.

The September white maize contract fell by R17 to R2125 a ton, December white maize was off R18 at R2215, but July white maize inched up R9 to R2066 a ton.

Dow Jones Newswires reported Chicago Board of Trade maize ended sharply lower on Tuesday for the second successive day, but rebounded from the session’s early lows. July maize closed down 23¾ c to $6,92¾ a bushel, September closed down 23¼ c to $7,04½ and December closed down 24½ to $7,22½ . Prices had been more than 40c lower in early trading.

Source: Copyright © 2005 BDFM Publishers (Pty) Ltd.