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Johannesburg - The JSE slid during its opening session on
Wednesday, with commodity stocks leading the declines, amid negative global
investor sentiment.
At 09:22 local time, the JSE All Share [JSE:J203] index was
down 0.47% to 33,700.03 points, with platinum shares losing 1.38%, resources
falling 1.26% and gold miners losing 0.89%.
Financials dipped 0.45%, industrials were flat (0.03%), and
banks were 0.62% in the red.
The rand was trading at R7.61 to the US dollar, from R7.59
at the JSE's close on Tuesday. Gold was quoted at $1 677.16 a troy ounce from
$1 686.48/oz at the JSE's previous close, while platinum dipped to $1 641/oz
from $1 653/oz.
Nick Kunze, head of dealing at BJM Private Client Services,
said: "We are playing a bit of catch up after our market yesterday
relatively outperformed international counterparts. Wall Street sold off
towards the close yesterday, which filtered to Asian markets this
morning."
European markets opened softer, weighed by weakness in Asia
and worries about the US economy after Fed Chairman Bernanke followed Monday's
commitment to accommodative monetary policy with cautious remarks in a
television interview, Dow Jones Newswires reports.
Bernanke said in a televised interview with ABC News that
the US economy was not on a certain path to a full recovery. The Fed chief
acknowledged a brightening in the recent economic data, noting that jobs had
been created and that measures of consumer and business sentiment had improved.
In Asia, stock markets were mostly lower as Wall Street's modest declines on Tuesday capped demand, with regional bourses consolidating the previous session's rally.
