The JSE ended marginally down on Tuesday amid a day of profit taking. The local bourse briefly flirted with the positive side of the board, tracking a positive Dow which reacted to better-than-expected consumer data in the US.

At 5pm the JSE all share index had fallen 0.35 percent, with resources losing 0.27 percent. Platinum miners, however, added 0.57 percent, with gold miners up 1.14 percent.

Banks gained 0.52 percent, with financials flat, up 0.05 percent, but industrials ended 0.65 percent lower.

The rand was bid at 7.77 to the dollar, from 7.81 when the JSE closed on Monday. Gold was quoted at $947.82 a troy ounce from $954.05/oz at the JSE's last close, and platinum was at $1242.50/oz, from $1236.50/oz at its previous close.

A local trader said: "We ended marginally weaker on the back of profit taking, having seen the market get slightly ahead of itself recently.

"However, we had been positive for a short while this afternoon following the Dow, which reacted positively to better-than-expected consumer data.

"On the whole, many economic figures are coming through that point to an economic recovery — locally our economic indicators show that recovery may be as soon as the fourth quarter, so markets are quite resilient at the moment," he said.

The trader added that any weakness in the market is followed by buying, particularly from overseas investors.

Dow Jones Newswires reported that a strong reading of consumer confidence boosted investors' mood on Tuesday, pushing stocks higher.

The market rallied modestly at the opening bell on news of the reappointment of Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and data showing rising home prices. That was followed by the 10 am EDT release of the Conference Board's monthly confidence index.

Tuesday's developments came as many participants were growing wary of a possible market correction after the recent rally and worries that US economic recovery might be further off than expected.

"The data are confirming that the economy is probably already out of recession," said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Avalon Partners in New York. "But, look, the market is still up a lot and it is going to run into resistance."

Major indices came into Tuesday's actions at or near their highest levels since last fall.

US home prices rose in the second quarter for the first time in three years with a second-straight monthly increase in June, according to S&P Case-Shiller home-price indexes. For the second quarter, the S&P Case-Shiller US National Home Price Index posted a 14.9 percent drop from a year earlier, an improvement over the record 19.1 percent drop in the first quarter. It was up 2.9 percent sequentially.

President Barack Obama early on Tuesday praised Bernanke for helping the world economy avoid a depression. Most traders and analysts hailed the move as providing stability, eliminating one risk factor that could have weighed on the market as the end of Bernanke's current term drew closer.

"I don't think the market is at all surprised. Why would you switch horses midstream with the expert of the Great Depression and the Japanese lost decade?" said Robert Howe, founder of Hong Kong-based Geomatrix.

When the JSE closed, the Dow was up 0.62 percent.

Back in Johannesburg, Anglo American plc shed 99 cents to 262.20 rand and BHP Billiton lost 1.97 percent to 206.99 rand.

Petrochemicals group Sasol advanced 1.81 percent to 304.99 rand.

Metal group ArcelorMittal was off 3.48 percent to 120.89 rand and Kumba Iron Ore shed 1.15 percent to 257 rand.

Gold miner AngloGold Ashanti moved 2.54 percent higher to 299.41 rand.

Platinum miner Angloplat increased one rand to 681 rand and Impala Platinum added 1.90 rand to 206 rand, but Lonmin edged 1.64 rand lower to 194 rand, with Aquarius 2.74 percent lower to 35.50 rand.

Diversified miner Exxaro slipped 4.69 percent to 91.50 rand, but African Rainbow moved the other way, adding 1.51 rand to 153.50 rand.

Elsewhere on the JSE, brewer SABMiller declined 94 cents to 180.06 rand and British American Tobacco dropped 1.17 percent to 240.15 rand.

Imperial added 2.33 percent to 76.75 rand, with Tiger Brands improving 1.50 rand to 156 rand.

AECI however gave away 2.22 percent to 55.10 rand, with Barloworld slipping 1.82 percent to 48.60 rand.

Pretoria Portland Cement shed 3.65 percent to 29 rand. Construction Group M&R holdings fell 3.09 percent to 47 rand.

Banker Standard Bank moved 75 cents higher to 98.25 rand and Nedbank lost 1.34 percent to 113.85 rand. Absa swung the other way, profiting 1.63 percent to 127.30 rand.

Retailer JD Group was off 2.33 percent to 42 rand, with Lewis losing 2.12 percent to 50.75 rand.

Massmart advanced 1.72 percent to 79.85 rand, but Shoprite edged 1.81 percent lower to 57.55 rand. On Tuesday the group reported that its diluted headline earnings per share for the 12 months ended June 2009 were at 390.8 cents, up 30.9 percent from the previous years 298.6 cents.

The board declared a final dividend of 130.0 cents per ordinary share to bring the total distribution for the year to 200.0 cents per ordinary share (2008: 155 cents), an increase of 29 percent.

Poultry, stock feed and beef holding company Country Bird Holdings was unchanged at 3.40 rand. On Tuesday the group said headline earnings per share increased by 543 percent to 57.05 cents for the year ended 30 June from 8.87 cents the previous year.

The group said a recovery in margins and volumes lifted its operating profit to R186.6-million for the period, a 354 percent improvement on the R41.1-million reported for the previous financial year.

In line with its dividend policy of three times cover, a dividend of 9.52 cents per share for the period has been declared for payment on 30 November.

The group reported earnings per share of 65.74 cents, or 650 percent up from 8.72 cents.

Operating profit for the year at R2.913-billion was up 24.7 percent from the R2.336-billion reported before. Total turnover for the period was at R59.319-billion, up 24.5 percent from the R47.652-billion reported before.

Sugar and land investment group Tongaat Hulettgained 2.54 percent to 94 rand.

Telecommunications group MTN Group declined 94 cents to 127.01 rand, but Vodacom ended 45 cents higher to 58 rand.