South African technology shares punched higher this morning in the wake of the gains made by their international counterparts, as the 2003 rally looks set to extend into this year.
At 10.53am today, JSE tech heavyweight Dimension Data had surged by 10%, or 59c, to R6.09; Datatec had bounced 65c, or 3.98%, to R17; Idion had made 15c, or 7.3% at 220c; and Aplitec had advanced 41c, or 7.07%, to 621c.
The JSE`s IT index had bounced 377.57 points, or 4.77%, to 8 344, leaving the rest of the JSE`s rise to look rather marginal. The all share index had risen 85 points, or 0.79%, to 10 797.66.
Barnard Jacobs Mellet dealer Errol Zeki says JSE IT shares were propelled by the continuing tech rally in the US and Europe, the slightly weaker rand exchange rate, and some catch up play by investors.
"For a share like DiData, it has been a bit of a double driver. But there are definite signs that people are ploughing back into the JSE`s IT sector," he says.
On Monday, the US`s tech-laden Nasdaq hit a 30-month best level of 2 111.78 - a rise of 24.86 points, or 1.2%. The rival Dow Jones industrial average had gained 26.29 points to 10 485 and the Standard & Poor`s 500 index was up 5.37 points at 2 112.
The rise was due to good fourth quarter earnings expectations this week, including Intel, Apple and Yahoo on Wednesday followed by Sun Microsystems on Thursday.
Intel, the best performing US stock in 2003, rose strongly as Wall Street analysts expect it to post 28c a share and revenues of $8.2 billion, compared to earnings of 14c and sales of $6.8 billion in the same period last year.
The Nasdaq was also gaining from the news that at least six top US companies, including computer hardware manufacturer HP and online trading company Charles Schwab are to list on it, while keeping their listings on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).
The NYSE has always been a traditional exchange with an open outcry method of trading and has higher costs than the technology-driven Nasdaq. However, the NYSE has about 80% of US companies listed on its board.
The world`s largest cellphone manufacturer Nokia led European technology shares higher on news that its rival Motorola had won new contracts in China.
A Reuters report quotes a European trader as saying: "Europe will be very much driven by what has happened on the Nasdaq. European chip and cellphone companies are up on the encouraging noises about sales."
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