South African futures were weaker on Thursday as platinums dragged the JSE down, despite a firmer platinum price. The futures market was looking for direction for most of the day as the market factored in the higher taxes announced by Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan in Wednesday’s budget. Miners were hit by the firmer rand, which gained more than 1% against the dollar reaching a fresh 18-month high of R12.7916 on the day. The all share closed 0.18% higher at 52,183.10 points and the blue-chip top 40 gained 0.07%. Food and drug retailers were 4.19% higher and general retailers rose 2.59%. Banks added 0.85% and financials rose 0.74%. Resources gained 0.11%. Platinums shed 3.12% and property ended the day 0.64% off. The Dow was flat (+0.07%) in early evening trade. European markets were mixed with the FTSE 100 losing 0.12%. The Paris CAC 40 gained 0.11% and the German Dax was down 0.26%. At 5.48pm, the local near-dated top-40 Alsi futures index had lost 0.05% to 45,077 points with 23,2...
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