Good stuff

Friday’s trading on the JSE compared well with the performance of the Bulls – the market gained 1.39% on Friday alone and the gain for the week accrued to 3.04%.

Gold stocks dominated the trading on Friday (as was the case on Wednesday and Thursday) as the gold price reached 17 year highs – much like the domination of Blue forwards.

According to the Efficient Group the gold index gained 15.49% last week of which 6.96% were achieved on Friday – the largest gains on Friday were made by gold miners Harmony (11.30%), Gold Fields (6.00%) and AngloGold Ashanti (5.80%).

The two largest players, Anglo American (4.70%) and BHP Billiton (2.50%), pulled their weight, but were outshone by their smaller team mates. The currency, just as the match officials, had an effect on the trading but not significantly enough to change the outcome. Gold and platinum preceded a more polished performance from the Bulls gaining 0.65% and 0.11% respectively.

Black gold, oil, was as sturdy as the Western Province defence and let 1.70% slip through. The futures close out in Europe and the US moved their markets higher. The US indices gained around 0.80% on average wile the interest rate debate continuing unabated – there will be answers this week.

Trading in Germany was brisk ahead of the weekend’s elections, which were decidedly drawn, gaining 1.64%. The British and French were more sedated gaining 0.45% and 0.67% respectively.

The Far East is closed for public holidays - respect for the aged in Japan and the day following the Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival in Hong Kong.

After the weekend’s results in the north we may expect southern (market) players to take some vengeance in the market.