The JSE, after opening firmer, slipped into the red during the course of Monday's morning session, dragged lower by softer European markets, weaker commodity prices and lower Dow futures.
By 12:13 local time, the JSE all-share index had lost 0.43% to 34,076.14 points. Resources fell 0.68%, gold miners were down 0.70% and platinum miners lost 0.36%.
Industrials shed 0.28%, banks gave up 1.02%, and financials shed 0.44%.
The rand was trading at 7.57 to the US dollar, from 7.56 at the JSE's close on Friday. Gold was quoted at US$1,656.91 a troy ounce from $1,658.21 at the JSE's previous close, while platinum was at $1,674/oz from $1,676/oz.
A local trader said lower commodity prices were weighing on the JSE but that conditions were very quiet. This is a four day trading week locally, with SA markets closed Wednesday for a public holiday.
There was also very little in the way of major corporate news today to offer direction. Local current account data from the Reserve Bank's latest quarterly economic bulletin also failed to make an impression.
In London, the FTSE 100 remained weak, with mining and oil equities on the back foot amid falling commodity prices, Dow Jones Newswires reported.
By 11:58 local time, the FTSE 100 index was down 23.31 points, the Paris CAC 40 index and Composite DAX index were also lower.
In Asia, the markets ended mixed, with the Hang Seng down 202.56 points to 21,115.29, while the Nikkei in Japan gained 12.16 point to 10,141.99.
Dow Jones Newswires reports that US stock-index futures edged lower as investors poised for potential consolidation following last week's run by major indexes to multiyear highs, while shares of Apple Inc. were expected to be in focus as the company planned a conference call regarding its nearly $100 billion cash hoard.
Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 20 points to 13,143.
S&P 500 Index futures declined 3.2 points, while Nasdaq 100 futures lost 1.5 points.
With economic news “looking rather thin on the ground ... and corporate news set to remain rather quiet on Wall Street, the temptation to sit on the sidelines for a little while may well prevail,” said David Morrison, senior market strategist at GFT Markets in London.
“So long as the Dow holds above 13,000, then it's going to be difficult to argue that the upward trend isn't remaining very much intact.”
On the JSE, Anglo American (AGL) lost R3.13 or 1% to R310.67, BHP Billiton (BIL) dropped R2.40 to R242.07, but Sasol (SOL) gained R1.09 to R377.80.
Among gold stocks, Anglo Gold Ashanti (ANG) shed R1.35 to R290.35. Gold Fields (GFI) eased 74 cents to R106.76 and Harmony (HAR) dropped R1.16 or 1.38% to R82.85.
In platinums, Anglo American Platinum (AMS) rose by R5.65 or 1.03% to R555.69 and Northam (NHM) was up 10 cents to R34.29.
However, Impala Platinum (IMP) dropped R1.75 or 1.10% to R158.04. A local trader said the lack of clarity around Implats' indigenisation plan in Zimbabwe has put pressure on its share price.
Among banks, Capitec Bank (CPI) fell R2.96 or 1.48% to R196.49, Standard Bank (SBK) shed R1.05 to R112.50 and Nedbank (NED) dropped R2.22 or 1.31% to R167.68.
Media group Naspers (NPN) lifted R1.43 to R426.76.
Among industrials, SABMiller (SAB) was down R1.05 at R311.41, but BAT (BTI) added R1 to R387.77.
Among construction stocks, Murray & Roberts (MUR) was off 92 cents, or 3.2%, to R27.85. The trader could offer no explanation for the movement on Monday. Last week the company announced its intention to issue 112.8 million shares to qualifying shareholders at R18 per share as part its R2 billion rights offer. The company wants to bolster its liquidity in the short to medium term to withstand current “uncertain” global economic and financial markets.
Litha Healthcare, which earlier released its annual results, saw its share price give up 15 cents, or 4.1%, to 350 cents. It reported diluted headline earnings per share of 22.1 cents for the year ended December 2011 from 17.4 cents a year ago. Revenue grew to R1.782 billion from R1.290 billion, while operating profit rose to R145.7 million from R127.7 million before.
Education and recruitment group ADvTECH (ADH) posted a 9% increase in diluted headline earnings per share to 40.4 cents for the year ended December 2011, from 37.1 cents a year earlier. Revenue was up 9% to R1.6 billion, while operating profit increased 13% to R230 million. It's share price was untraded after closing at 675 cents previously.
Affordable homes builder RBA Holdings (RBA) saw its share price jump 10.5%, or by two cents, to 21 cents. The company earlier reported it had returned to profitability, with headline earnings per share of 2.16 cents for the year ended December 2011 after a loss of 4.94 cents the previous year.
The company grew revenue 62% to R176 million, while operating profit amounted to R14.2 million compared with a loss of R14.5 million for the previous financial year. - I-Net Bridge
