Stocks AM: Positive offshore undertones add spark

    Johannesburg, Dec 11 (I-Net Bridge) – The JSE went on the offensive to gain nearly 150 points in early trade on Friday as positive undertones emanated from offshore.
    At 09:15 the JSE all share index was up by 0.52%, with industrials gaining 0.65%, resources 0.53%, banks 0.33% and platinum counters 0.48%. Financial counters added 0.27%, but gold stocks pulled back by 0.22%.
    The rand was bid at 7.54 to the dollar, from 7.52 when the JSE closed on Thursday. Gold was quoted at US$1,136.00 a troy ounce from US$1,130.13 at the JSE’s last close, and platinum was at US$1,428/oz, from US$1,424/oz the bourse’s previous close.
    “The Dow was a little firmer, with [Treasury Secretary] Geithner seeming to help every time he talks,” said a local bond dealer.
    Geithner last night defended the decision to extend the government’s unpopular $700 billion bailout, saying it was committed to a stable financial system.
    The local dealer said Dow futures were up and providing direction this morning on where the US will go later, while Asia and Europe had also provided a positive underpin.
    “We’ll see if it holds and will be watching the London open at 1000,” he said.
    Dow Jones newswires reported that European bourses are expected to open near the flat line after an improvement in sentiment towards financial stocks helped stocks close higher on Thursday.
    For Friday’s opening, IG Markets is calling the FTSE up 7 at 5251, the DAX up 7 at 5716 and the CAC down 10 at 3788.
    U.S. stocks closed up on Thursday as retailers pushed higher and defensive sectors and companies continued a trend of recent strength. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 68.78 points, or 0.67%, at 10405.83, its highest close since December 2.
    European markets may get a boost from a slew of data releases from China confirming the view that the economic recovery there is gaining momentum. Data from Beijing showed an on-year rise in consumer prices for the first time in 10 months in November, while industrial output growth also picked up and imports were up for the first time in 13 months.
    “We believe the evidence is clear that real activity growth remains robust and we expect that trend to continue in the coming months,” Goldman Sachs economists Yu Song and Helen Qiao said in a research note.
    The data helped Asian stock markets, which are mostly higher.
    Shanghai Composite was up 0.1%. Japan’s Nikkei 225 was up 0.8% at 9,936.30, while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was 0.7% higher, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was up 1.8%, Taiwan shares were up 0.9% and South Korea’s Kospi Composite was up 0.4%.
    Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were 10 points higher in screen trade.

    By Evan Pickworth
    I-Net Bridge.
    Copyright 2009 I-Net Bridge. All rights reserved.

This entry was posted on Friday, December 11th, 2009 at 10:13 am and is filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.