JSE slides

ceiling in the US.
On the local bourse, gold stocks improved as the price of gold reached a record high yesterday, with the yellow metal proving a safe haven for jittery investors.
By 09:13 local time, the JSE all-share index was 0,24 percent lower, with resources off 0,31 percent and platinum miners losing 1,19 percent.
Gold miners, however, pocketed 1,24 percent. Banks gave up 0,66 percent, industrials fell 0,03 percent and financials were down 0,52 percent.
The rand was bid at 6,83 to the dollar, from 6,77 the JSE’s close on Friday.
Gold was quoted at US$1 618,01 a troy ounce from US$1 605,75/oz at the JSE’s previous close, while platinum was at US$1 794,50/oz, from US$1 796,50/oz previously.
A local trader said the prospect of a default looming in the US was weighing heavily on global markets, adding that, as a result, gold moved to a record high in its role as a safe haven for uncertain investors.
Dow Jones Newswires reported that European stocks were expected to start sharply lower yesterday, as US policymakers were unable to reach an agreement as to how the nation should tackle its debt and investors are quaking at the thought of a potential default by the world’s largest economy by next Tuesday.
“The failure of last-ditch debt talks in the US this past weekend could prove a watershed moment for the markets,” commented Martin Slaney, director of global dealing operations at GFT.
“With just days to go now before the August 2 deadline, investors who had previously written the impasse off as political games are now going to seriously consider the possibility of a default. The chance the US could run out of cash in a week is difficult for traders to comprehend.”
As a result, opening calls for the main European indexes are sharply lower, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average is expected to start down by about 1 percent.
Chris Weston, institutional trader at IG Markets, called London’s FTSE 100 to start down 45 points, or 0,8 percent lower, at 5 890.
Meanwhile, Asian stock markets were lower yesterday, with a stronger yen hurting exporters in Tokyo, while railways-related shares tumbled in Shanghai following the weekend’s deadly collision of two high-speed trains in China.
Investor sentiment suffered a marked setback after Wall Street’s mixed session on Friday, while US congressional leaders remained split on Sunday on how to cut the deficit and raise the debt ceiling.
Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average was down 0,8 percent, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 1,5 percent, while South Korea’s Kospi Composite was 0,9 percent lower. The Shanghai Composite Index was down 2,5 percent and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index lost 0,8 percent. – I-NET BRIDGE.