The South African share market struggled to find a clear direction on Monday amid low trading volumes, which analysts have attributed to the start of the northern hemisphere summer holiday. The total value of the shares traded was about R2.8bn at lunchtime, well below the daily average of about R6bn by this time of the day. The all share index was flat at 51,907.70 points, as slim gains in the industrial and financial sectors compensated for losses in resources. Diversified miners fell broadly in sympathy with low commodity prices, with platinum now selling below $900 an ounce for the first time since early May. The gold price was marginally lower at $1,207.16, after dropping 2.3% over the past week. The lower commodity prices were not helped by a recovery in the rand, following a sharp drop over the past week. The rand was back to R13.30 to the dollar, after having weakened through R13.50 last week, mainly on local political news. "We know that our market has been viewed unfavourab...
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