Gold miners dragged the JSE lower at noon on Wednesday as continued rand strength weighed on them, a local trader said.
By 12.01pm local time the JSE all share index had fallen 0.32 percent, with gold miners down 3.47 percent, resources shedding 0.86 percent and industrials dropping 0.18 percent.
Financials were however 0.48 percent higher while banks added 0.42 percent. Platinum
miners gained 0.03 percent.
The rand was bid at 7.08 to the dollar, from 7.05 at the JSE's close on Tuesday. Gold was quoted at US$1268.11 a troy ounce from US$1270.55/oz at the JSE's previous close, while platinum was at $1583.00/oz from $1589.00/oz at the JSE's close previously.
"The rand strength is offsetting the gains gold miners made yesterday.
The platinum price is good but no real joy there either. Sentiment is changing everyday in the different sectors. We are also following some other global markets which are weaker," the trader said.
Dow Jones Newswires reported earlier that European stock markets were little changed Wednesday, as market participants digested Japan's official intervention to weaken its safe-haven currency, while awaiting key European economic data to further gauge the state of the recovery.
Earlier, Japan's Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda confirmed the yen selling and traders said the intervention continued even as the dollar climbed above Y84, as the Ministry of Finance frequently sold yen in $10 million lots.
Although the news pushed Japan's Nikkei stock index sharply higher, the move was not a complete surprise as the pressure on exporters and the slide in the Nikkei were going to force the Japanese Ministry of Finance's hand eventually, said Kenneth Broux, senior market economist at Lloyds Banking Group.
Earlier, Asian stocks were mixed Wednesday, with the Tokyo market posting strong gains after the yen fell sharply on the foreign-exchange intervention by the Japanese authorities.
Japan's Nikkei Stock Average rose 2.3 percent, as local traders estimated that the authorities' yen sales were worth around Y200 billion to Y300 billion in the early minutes of intervention, the first in six years.
