The JSE closed on a low today with the all share index closing 1.96% in the red. The gold mining index fell 4.11% and resources dropped 4.1%, while the platinum mining index weakened 3.45%. Banks were down 0.95% and financials lost 0.88%, but industrials were on the up 0.89%. The JSE ended in the red today largely due to weaker world markets and ever growing fears of a recession in the US. The drop in the resources and mining stocks did not help the JSE. With the prices of platinum and gold coming down today, it was no surprise that the resource and mining indexes fell by such great margins today.

At 20:00, Platinum was trading at $1 980 an ounce and gold was at $970.80, both metals significantly dropping from their levels last week. There was not letting up on the price of oil though. Oil hit a record high of $107/barrel today, reversing earlier losses as investors sought oil as a hedge against a depressed dollar and inflation.

As for the Rand, at 17:20 local time, it was trading at R7.9320 against the greenback after briefly touching R7.9280, a sharp recovery from its session, and new near-five-year, low of R8.1170/dollar.

The Rand was bid at 7.9300 to the dollar at 17:40 today from its previous close of 8.0510 and an intraday worst level of 8.0675.

The JSE closed in the red today with the All Share index ending 1.16% lower. Global equity markets all seemed to take a dive today after the release of gloomy US job reports and continuing fears of a recession in the US. Most of the indexes on the JSE ended lower today with the exception of the gold mining index which closed 1.95% up. This past week the JSE has mainly been held up by the resources and mining stocks but today it was not the case as the platinum mining index retreated 1.36%, while resources fell 1.23%.

The JSE closed in positive territory today as the All Share Index was up 1.83%. Resources were among the biggest contributors to the gain as the resource index was up 2.55%. The industrial index was up 1.24% so was that financial index by 1.59%.

The Producer Price Inflation (PPI) figures were released today and they were 10.4% year-on-year which is what the market expected and thus did not have a major effect on the JSE’s trading today. Producer price inflation (PPI) rose to 10.4% year-on-year in January up from December’s rate of 9.5%, Statistics SA reported today. PPI inflation indicates what consumers are likely to pay in stores in the future.

At 21:00 the Rand was trading at R7.97 to the dollar, R12.26 to the euro and R16.01 to the pound show that the Rand continues to soften against the major currencies.

At 15:40 the Rand was bid at R7.7874 to the dollar from its previous close of R7.8778, having reached R7.9275 during the course of the day. It was bid at R11.8760 to the euro from a previous R11.9763 and at R15.4578 against sterling from R15.6333 before showing that there have been slight gains in the strength of the local currency.

The JSE ended in the red today after what seemed to be a lot of profit taking on the market today coupled by the prospects of low economic growth in South Africa. The news that construction projects maybe halted due to Eskom’s inability to supply enough electricity also had a negative effect on the markets today. However, Eskom were quick to come out and quash that speculation.

The All share index ended 1.18% lower, led by a 5.18% fall in the platinum mining index. Resources were down 1.33% and the gold mining index gained 0.9%. Banks fell 1.48%, financials retreated 0.42% and industrials were also on the down 1.32%.

Opec decided today to maintain its current output levels and that saw oil at $104 a barrel at 19:05.

The Rand continues to soften against the major currencies. At 15:45 today, the Rand was trading at R7.8303 to the dollar from its previous close of R7.7301. The local currency was trading at R11.9199 to the euro from a previous R11.7678 and at R15.5675 against sterling from R15.3291 before.The JSE ended the day in the positive with the All Share index up 0.83%. The gains in the JSE were largely attributed to the resource stocks after strong platinum and gold prices pushed the stocks up. Financial stocks still remain in the red with the financial index being 2.75% down. Financial stocks are under pressure due to the weak Rand and poor inflation outlook in South Africa. Read the rest of this entry »

The Rand was steady towards the end of the day after getting close to the R8/$ mark, although it continues to soften against the major currencies. At 15:45 the Rand was bid at R7.883 to the dollar, R11.9704 to euro and R15.6462 to the pound. It is important for the Rand to stay below the R8 mark as chances are that if it breaches this mark, we could well see the Rand head towards the R9 mark during the year.The JSE closed on a low note today, finishing 0.14% lower. The JSE’s Bank index was down 3.77%, Financials lost 2.32% and Industrials were also down by 0.93%. Resources were up 1.13%, the Platinum mining index surged up 4.22% and the Gold mining index was 4.27% in the positive. The JSE was in the red today largely due to weaker global equity markets. Not even the positives experienced by the resources and mining stocks could save the JSE from closing in the red.

The price of gold reached a record high today of $989.54 an ounce as the precious metal continues to surge towards the $1 000 mark. Platinum is also on the up and reached the $2 211 an ounce mark.