Stocks Follow Wall Street Lower
May 12, 2011
The All Share index slipped 16 points to 6688, the Industrial index fell 18 points to 7835 and the All Gold index lost 21 points to 1787. Local stock prices dropped steeply in initial dealings as investors displayed their anxiety over a 64-drop in the Dow Jones Industrial Average Thursday to 5647. U.S. prices Friday were again under pressure, with the average down about 50 points in the first hours of trading. A stronger rand helped drag the local share market off its worst levels while further dulling an already tarnished gold sector. Late Friday, the dollar was quoted at 4.4885 rand, down from 4.5105 rand a day earlier. The rand's resurgence was attributed to dollar selling from London banks, augmented late in the session by local institutional selling. But futures players were again the dominant force on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, causing swings in the All Share and Industrial indexes as they sought to arbitrage between stocks and index futures contracts. Oil and synthetic fuels producer Sasol continued to bound higher, rising 1.30 rand to a new high of 50.00 rand a share. Market bellwether Anglo American eked out a gain of 2.50 to 272.50 rand but was one of the few blue chips to defy the weaker market trend. South African Breweries, more indicative of the general market, fell 3.00 rand to 119.00 rand a share. Diversified industrial group Imperial Holdings stood out among the most active stocks Friday, edging up 10 cents to 46.10 rand on comparatively heavy volume of 767,800 shares.
