Johannesburg - The JSE crept into positive territory at the start on Friday amid mixed Asian markets. A trader said that markets are expected to tread water ahead of the ever-crucial US employment data, due this afternoon.
By 09:19 local time the JSE all share index was down 0.09%, with resources adding 0.15% and gold stocks flat. Platinum miners however, shed 0.56%.
Industrials gained 0.06%, banks found 0.27% and financials were flat.
The rand was bid at R6.90 to the dollar from R6.88 at the JSE's close on Thursday. Gold was quoted at $1 335.07 a troy ounce from $1 330.47/oz at the JSE's previous close, while platinum was at $1 693/oz from $1 695.00/oz before.
The yellow metal fell sharply on Thursday afternoon, having reached a record of $1 364.94 an ounce earlier in the day. Analysts cited a marginal recovery in the dollar and profit-taking for gold's decline.
A local dealer said: "We have seen a bit of a tug-of-war in Asia this morning with mixed company data out of Japan and better than economic data out of China.
"Markets are likely to tread water ahead of US employment data, which should drive direction," he said.
Dow Jones Newswires reports that Europeans stocks opened slightly lower as investors err on the side of caution ahead of key US employment data.
The UK producer price index is also expected.
In Asia, stock markets were mixed, with shares in China rising sharply as they played catch-up on their first trading day after the Golden Week holiday.
News that Moody's Investors Service is reviewing China's government bond rating for a possible upgrade appeared to help a few markets recoup some of their earlier losses.
Japan's Nikkei Stock Average ended down 1.0% and South Korea's Kospi Composite was down 0.5%. But Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index tacked on 0.7% and China's Shanghai Composite added 2.5%.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 19.07 at 10 948.58 overnight.
