The JSE weakened at its opening on Thursday in line with Asia, which mostly declined on news out late on Wednesday that Moody's Investor Services put its rating of US treasuries on review.
By 09:14 local time, the JSE all-share index lost 0.36%, with gold miners off 0.54% and resources down 0.43%. Platinum miners, however, added 0.90%.
Industrials shed 0.30%. Banks fell 0.48% and financials dropped 0.42%.
The rand was bid at 6.84 to the dollar, unchanged from the JSE's close on Tuesday. Gold was quoted at US$1,583.66 a troy ounce from US$1,585.31/oz at the JSE's previous close, while platinum was at $1,765/oz, from $1,759/oz previously.
“The news from Moody's did see the Dow end lower last night, which then flowed into Asia this morning, which did, however, end off its worse levels,” said a local trader.
“The JSE has run quite hard of late, and on a percentage terms has performed better than most markets under very difficult circumstances, including local political issues with the current strikes,” she said, noting some profit-taking in the local market.
Dow Jones Newswires reported that in Asia on Thursday, stock markets fell after Moody's warning on US government debt. Japan's Nikkei Stock Average ended 0.27% lower, and South Korea's Kospi Composite lost 0.5%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index was down 0.38%, while China's Shanghai Composite traded flat.
Before Moody's warning on US debt, stocks in Wall Street rose on Wednesday, as US Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke told legislators that the bank was “prepared to respond” if stimulus was needed, signalling to some that he was keeping the door open for a third round of quantitative easing.
European stocks were set to drop at the open on Thursday, after Moody's warning on US's debt rating rattles market confidence.
Late Wednesday, Moody's Investor Services put its long-standing “AAA” rating of US treasuries on review due to the ongoing political feud over the raising of the national debt limit. The continuing stalemate on the “debt ceiling” between the Democrat and the Republican parties appeared to show no sign of nearing a conclusion, leaving market participants quite jittery, said IG Markets.
“With each passing day of stalemate discussions, the risk of US default rises, which many are now saying could trigger a precipitous plunge in equity markets,” added IG. Adding further pressure to markets, Fitch Ratings slashed Greece's issuer default ratings four notches deeper into “junk” territory on Wednesday, saying the move reflected the absence of a new, fully funded and credible European Union-International Monetary Fund aid programme.
Traders said Fitch's latest move on Greece did not come as a surprise but euro-zone debt concerns remained, with the results of the European bank stress tests, due on Friday, capable of throwing another spanner in the works.
On the JSE, Anglo American (AGL) lost 2.21 rand to 332.50 rand, BHP Billiton (BIL) slipped 81 cents to 267.50 rand, and Sasol (SOL) fell 2.45 rand to 354.45 rand.
Gold miner Anglo Gold Ashanti (ANG) was 2.99 rand lower at 299.01 rand.
Amplats (AMS) rose 4.06 rand to 603.07 rand, and Impala Platinum (IMP) was up 131 cents to 173.51 rand.
Diversified miner Exxaro (EXX) declined 1.43 rand to 177.07 rand, while diversified miner African Rainbow (ARI) dropped 1.33 rand to 191.17 rand.
Industrials group Bidvest (BVT) shipped 1.05 rand to 166.25 rand, and SAB (SAB) moved 1.03 rand lower to 256.67 rand.
Pretoria Portland Cement (PPC) lost 45 cents or 1.61% to 27.45 rand.
Banking group Nedbank (NED) waivered 1.45 rand to 145.55 rand.
AVI (ILV) declined 76 cents or 2.29% to 32.49 rand. The group announced the disposal of Denny Mushrooms on Wednesday. Denny is the leading producer of fresh, canned and value-added mushroom products in SA, with a market share exceeding 50%.
Astral Foods (ARL) gained 1.99 rand or 1.56% to 129.79 rand.
Retailer Mr Price (MPC) lost 1.33 rand or 1.89% to 69.19 rand. - I-Net Bridge