After opening firmer on Friday morning, the JSE had given up its gains by midday and was trading 125 points in the red. A local trader said that after the all share index posted an all-time high of 32 440.9 earlier, the market saw some profit taking, particularly in the resources stocks.

At 12.05pm, the JSE's broader all share index was off 0.39 percent, led by a 0.59 percent decline in resources, a 0.74 percent fall in financials and a 0.33 percent fall in banks.

However, gold miners were up 2.5 percent and platinum miners advanced 0.86 percent.

The rand was bid at 7.70 to the dollar from 7.56 when the JSE closed on Thursday, while gold was quoted at $888.05 a troy ounce from $882.75 at the JSE's last close.

A weaker close in Asia and the softer London market were also playing a role, but the weaker rand was helping gold and platinum miners.

I-Net Bridge