The JSE advanced on Tuesday mainly on the back of a rally led by the financials index which rose on the back of a firmer rand.

The rand was trading mostly firmer on the day as it peaked at a session high of R13.83/$. However, the local currency pulled back after the greenback advanced on the back of positive US retail sales data. At 17.00 CAT the rand was trading 0.11% weaker at R13.91/$.

The local bourse rose despite a weaker close in major Asian market indices. The Nikkei closed 0.69% weaker while the Shanghai Composite Index dropped 0.45%. The Hang Seng managed to add gains of 0.23%. In Europe, stocks traded mostly firmer while in the USA stocks opened mixed despite better than expected earnings results from banking giants JP Morgan Chase and Goldman Sachs.

Blue chips such as Sappi [JSE:SAP] advanced 4.52% to close at R52.26, while Bidvest [JSE:BVT] rose 2.29% to end the day at R196.99. Oil producer Sasol [JSE:SOL] managed to gain 3.35% as it closed at R337.86, while Barloworld [JSE:BAW] firmed to R129.25 after adding 1.66%. Banks recorded gains on the day which saw stocks such as Standard Bank [JSE:SBK] gain 2.2% to close at R192.14, ABSA Group [JSE:ABG] added 2.02% to close at R172.00, while Investec Limited [JSE:INL] closed 1.81% higher at R90.19.

Other significant gainers on the day included Richemont [JSE:CFR] which closed at R118.03 after gaining 1.9%, Truworths [JSE:TRU] which gained 1.78% to close at R68.50, and Aspen Pharmacare [JSE:APN] which climbed 2.06% to close at R103.87. Anglo American Platinum [JSE:AMS] was buoyed by the release of a positive trading statement for its half-year which saw the stock close 1.24% firmer at R805.95.

Losses were relatively modest especially for the local bourse's biggest stocks. Diversified miner South32 [JSE:S32] lost 2.82% as it closed at R29.30, while Kumba Iron Ore [JSE:KIO] fell 2.58% to end the day at R471.16. EOH Holdings [JSE:EOH] lost more ground in today's session following the release of an update on forensic investigations done into the firm. The share eventually closed 0.77% lower at R20.70.

Listed property stocks recorded another subdued session with losses being recorded for Investec Property Fund [JSE:IPF] which lost 2.45% to close at R15.11, as well as Hammerson PLC [JSE:HMN] which fell 2.19% to end the day at R47.70.

The JSE Top-40 index eventually closed 0.99% firmer while the broader JSE All-Share index closed 0.8% higher. All the major indices managed to advance on the day. Industrials added 0.72%, Resources gained 0.73% and Financials surged to close 1.63% higher.

At 17.00 CAT, Palladium was down 1.25% to trade at $1546.85/Oz, Gold was 0.3% weaker at $1409.75/Oz, and Platinum was up 0.82% to trade at $850.50/Oz.

Brent crude remained relatively buoyant despite data indicating increased global supplies. The commodity was trading 0.62% firmer at $66.92/barrel just after the JSE close after it had briefly peaked at a session high of $67.08/barrel.