The JSE ended 568 points lower on Monday with resource and precious metal counters and a weaker Wall Street weighing on the bourse.

By 5pm the JSE all share index had lost 2.56 percent, with resources falling 4.68 percent. Gold counters declined 3.46 percent and platinum miners gave up 6.48 percent.

Banks eased 0.17 percent, financials gave up 1.27 percent and industrials weakened 0.92 percent.

The rand was 8.00 to the dollar from 7.91 when the JSE closed on Friday. Gold was quoted at $921.97/oz a troy ounce from $932.95/oz at the JSE's last close, and platinum was at $1145.50/oz, from $1181/oz, at its previous close.

"We are following US markets, and they are playing catch up after being closed on Friday," a local trader said.

"The unemployment figures in the US last week triggered things. There is still uncertainty in the market. The figures gave people excuses to take money off the table.

"However, markets have seen some big moves over the last couple of months, so this profit taking was expected. Resources are under pressure.

"But I think the market will get overdone and we will see some buying come back in," he said.

Dow Jones Newswires reports that a slump in the energy sector and worries about the upcoming earnings season weighed on US stocks on Monday morning.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was off 31 points in recent trading. Its energy components, Exxon Mobil and Chevron, fell about 1.5 percent each as oil prices dropped.

The commodity has put in solid gains along with the stock market, helped by an influx of speculative bets. But in recent sessions, it has been hurt by worries about demand weakness due to the global recession, which now seems likely to last longer than many traders expected.

Crude futures were recently down US$2.85 to US$63.88 a barrel in New York, leading a broad decline in raw materials. The Dow Jones-UBS Commodity Index was off 2.4 percent.

Blue-chip aluminium maker Alcoa fell 4.3 percent, hurt by both the weakness in commodity prices and investors' shifting focus to the second-quarter earnings season. Alcoa will announce its results after Wednesday's close, marking the symbolic start to a reporting season that many investors are looking forward to with increasing dread.

For much of the year, the consensus on Wall Street was that the global economy would begin a rebound in the second half of the year. But now that the second half is here, there is little evidence of such a comeback, and executives seem unlikely to provide much solace in the forecasts that accompany their companies' second-quarter financial statements.

In economic news on Monday, the Institute for Supply Management said its service-sector index for June came in at 47, better than the 44 reading seen in May and above the mean expectation of economists for a June reading of 46. Any reading below 50 indicates contraction.

When the local market closed, the DJIA was last down 0.72 percent.

Back in Johannesburg, Anglo American lost 5.45 percent to 209.80 rand and BHP Billiton fell 3.90 percent to 166.34 rand.

Petrochemicals group Sasol declined 5.14 percent to 258.50 rand.

Paper group Sappi lost 5.75 percent to 21.30 rand and Mondi weakened 1.47 percent to 33.50 rand.

ArcelorMittal was down five percent to 89 rand, Highveld Steel gave up 4.54 percent to 61 rand and Kumba Iron Ore lost 2.51 percent to 173.80 rand.

Gold miner AngloGold Ashanti shed 3.83 percent to 276 rand, Gold Fields fell 3.69 percent to 90.20 rand and Harmony declined 1.75 percent to 71.72 rand.

Among platinum miners, Anglo Platinum lost 3.75 percent to 515.20 rand, Impala Platinum was off 7.81 percent to 158.11 rand and Lonmin plummeted 9.27 percent to 137 rand.

In diversified miners, African Rainbow weakened 3.51 percent to 121.50 rand and Exxaro declined 3.99 percent to 73.40 rand.

Elsewhere on the JSE, SABMiller was 1.56 percent lower at 161.25 rand, Bidvest declined 2.82 percent to 93.29 rand, Imperial was down 1.78 percent to 58 rand and Tiger Brands gave up 3.02 percent to 144.01 rand.

However, British American Tobacco was up 1.43 percent to 225.26 rand.

Banker Standard Bank edged up 72 cents to 88.90 rand but Absa eased 10 cents to 109.50 rand and FirstRand lost 2.18 percent to 13.93 rand.

Financial services group Old Mutual lost 5.84 percent to 10 rand and Sanlam was off 1.15 percent to 17.15 rand.

Sugar group Illovo collected 1.90 percent to 28.99 rand.

Media group Caxton gave up 4.98 percent to 10.50 rand but Avusa added 6.95 percent to 21.39 rand.

Retailer Woolies was down 2.65 percent to 12.85 rand, Truworths lost 2.37 percent to 37.05 rand, Massmart weakened 3.03 percent to 80 rand and Foschini lost 3.64 percent to 48.95 rand.

Liberty International declined 1.76 percent to 50.10 rand.

Construction group Aveng lost 2.55 percent to 32.80 rand, Group Five fell 1.45 percent to 34 rand and Murray & Roberts was 1.20 percent weaker at 46.83 rand.

Cement manufacturer Pretoria Portland Cement was down 2.50 percent to 29.25 rand.

Telecommunications group MTN Group was up 70 cents to 120 rand, but Telkom weakened 39 cents to 40.11 rand and Vodacom edged down 40 cents to 54.10 rand.

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