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The JSE board at Sandton, Johannesburg. Photo: Leon Nicholas

The JSE was off the session lows in midday trade on Friday, supported mainly by the upward momentum in gold stocks. The index surged nearly 5% at the closing bell on Thursday, driven by the spot price of yellow metal.

At 12.00, the JSE all-share index was 0.23% lower to 33.986.37 points, with gold index up 0.88%, while resources shed 0.64% and platinum shares lost 0.17%.

Banks gained 0.59%, financials edged up 0.24%, and industrials were down 0.17%.

Gold was trading at US$1,723.72 a troy ounce from US$1,727.84 at the JSE's previous close, while platinum was at quoted at US$1,614.50/oz, from US$1,617.50/oz at the previous close.

“There is still a sense of nervousness in the market mainly due to unresolved Greek debt issue. Another issue that is of concern to investors is the rising bond yields in Portugal,” said Viv Govender, market analyst at Vunani Private Clients Services.

European stock markets traded lower on Friday, as increasing uncertainty around reaching a Greek debt swap agreement continued to hamper sentiment, sending banking stocks sharply lower across the region, according to Dow Jones Newswires.

At noon local time london's FTSE 100 was down 0.28% to 5,779.02 points.

Greece and its private-sector creditors agreed to meet again on Friday in a race to negotiate a EUR100 billion debt write-down for the country, but as discussions continue, “it appears that private bond holders and officials are standing firm over the same issue of the coupon and are unable to move forward with neither side willing to compromise,” said Capital Spreads.

As a result, market participants adopt a cautious stance heading into the weekend, reluctant to build exposure to equities while the Greek debt saga continues.

Investors will also be looking to the fourth quarter gross domestic product data in the US, due out later in the day.

On the JSE, AngloGold Ashanti was up R2.41 to R359.10, Gold Fields (GFI) added R1.43 or 1.10% to R131.43, and Harmony (HAR) lifted 88 cents at R94.25.

Anglo American (AGL) was down R4.75 or 1.41% to R332.25, BHP Billiton (BIL) lost R2.88 or 1.06% to R268.48 and Sasol (SOL) slipped 25 cents to R399.50.

Platinum miner Amplats (AMS) was down 70 cents to R558.30, while Lonmin (LON) gave up R1 to R134.

In industrials, British American Tobacco (BTI) collected R2.40 to R365.40, but Barloworld (BAW) lost R1.07 or 1.24% at R85.33.

Murray and Roberts (MUR) gained 64 cents or 2.36% to R27.74.

JD Group (JDG) lost R1.25 or 2.53% to R48.25. - I-Net Bridge