JSE at record high
Fri, 16 May 2008
The JSE jumped to record high for the second day running on Thursday amid talks that the US sub-prime crisis has subsided. A buoyant opening on Wall Street contributed to the gains.
The JSE's all share index earlier set a new record high of 32 647.430 points but slipped slightly to close at 32 647.43 points, up 0.80 percent.
The platinum mining index jumped 2.05 percent, resources added 1.02 percent while the gold mining index rose 0.22 percent.
Industrials gained 0.73 percent, financials perked up 0.21 percent but banks shed 0.20 percent.
Platinum heavyweight, Anglo Platinum soared 2.44 percent to 1343 rand but Impala Platinum dropped 1.28 rand to 329.72 rand.
Resources giant BHP Billiton edged up 50 cents to 315 rand, while rival Anglo American collected 1.29 percent to 513 rand. Petrochemicals group Sasol jumped 2.17 percent to 489.90 rand.
Among gold miners, AngloGold Ashanti announced earlier that it would not sell its stake in the Morila Gold Mine in Mali after the offers received did not match its criteria. The gold miner’s stock price climbed 0.5 percent to 298.32 rand.
Meanwhile Harmony slumped nearly four percent during the day but regained most of its losses to ease 1.30 percent to 95 rand while Gold Fields lifted 79 cents to 105 rand.
Brewer SABMiller’s stock price rallied earlier when it posted buoyant annual results that exceeded expectations. It reported a 21 percent increase in adjusted earnings per share of 1021.2 South African cents for the year ended March 2008 from 847.1 cents year–on-year. The group’s share price rocketed more than five percent during the day but retreated to close at 185.50 rand, up 3.63 percent.
Alleged takeover target MTN Group pulled back 1.02 percent to 153.40 rand.
Among financial stocks, banking group Investec Limited rose 1.35 percent to 56.15 rand while Investec plc advanced 1.84 percent to 55.32 rand. It earlier reported diluted headline earnings per share of 46.6 pence for the year ended March from 48.1 pence a year ago.
