THE JSE made a sharp reversal in late trade on Wednesday after the US released retail sales data. The local bourse had been trading flat for most of the day before that.
Miners, specifically platinum miners, provided the most support on the day, due to a higher platinum price because of supply concerns. At 5.08pm the platinum price was quoted at $1,722/oz from $1,716/oz on Tuesday.
US retail sales edged up 0.1% in January, the Commerce Department reported, in line with expectations.
At 5pm the all-share index closed 0.27% higher at 40,808.73 points, with platinum counters gaining 1.44%, the gold index up 1.24% and resources adding 0.93%.
European markets gained ground after the release of data showing eurozone industrial production rose more than expected in December.
The London FTSE 100 index was seen 0.52% firmer at 4.53pm, while the Dow Jones Industrial index was seen 0.09% softer at the same time.
On the JSE, Impala Platinum was 2.55% higher at R166.13 and gold producer AngloGold Ashanti gained 1.57% to R258.
Producer of semi-finished and fabricated aluminium products Hulamin surged 9.35% to R5.03 after it said late on Wednesday afternoon that it expected its headline earnings per share in the year to December to surge by between 125% and 131%‚ from the same period a year earlier.
Construction company Group Five soared 9.29% to close at R32 after it reported on Wednesday a 63% gain in headline earnings per share to 152c for the six months ended December. The dividend was raised 45% to 32c per share.
Welding and gas products group African Oxygen dipped 1.22% to close at R24.30 after it said on Wednesday that the group’s headline earnings per share for the year ended December 31 are expected to be between 0% and 2% lower than those for the previous year.
