The JSE extended gains slightly but was still flat by noon on Friday, held up by resource stocks which were higher on the weaker rand.

At 12.02pm the JSE all share index had collected 0.30 percent, with resources up 0.88 percent and gold miners adding 1.39 percent, but platinums were off 1.06 percent.

Banks lost 1.34 percent, financials eased 0.19 percent and industrials were flat, down 0.07 percent.

The rand was bid at 7.35 to the dollar from 7.27 just before the JSE closed on Thursday. Gold was quoted at $1050.58 a troy ounce from $1055.89/oz just before the JSE's last close, and platinum was at $1343.50/oz, from $1346/oz at its previous close.

"We are flat on the market at the moment, the market is still digesting recent gains," one trader said.

"We are flat, it would have been the tenth day of being positive. The rand has also weakened substantially against other currencies and the resources are gaining on that," a second trader said.

"The pound has strengthened and it supports some big companies on our bourse. The likes of Old Mutual and British American Tobacco are up. Sasol is also stronger on the back of the pound. Commodity prices have come down.

They ran too far and now we are seeing some profit taking.

"For the rest of the day we are going to stay flat at these levels. After the recent gains there will come a time when where must see some profit taking. There are concerns whether the earnings will support these price increases," he said.

Dow Jones Newswires reports that the FTSE 100 was still in positive territory, but off the session highs. With no UK economic news to help direction, the focus will yet again be on US earnings news. Nick Mitchell at CMC Markets eyed General Electric. He said it was often seen as a bellwether for the economy. Bank of America will also report earnings. US industrial production is at 1.15pm GMT, followed by University of Michigan sentiment index at 1.55pm GMT.

The FTSE 100 was last up 0.47 percent.

US stocks are expected to be mixed at the open on Friday, as a diverging picture emerges, said David Morrison at GFT. He called the DJIA down 25 points with investors giving a muted reaction to Wednesday's bank results. Morrison also noted profit-taking in Asia, which could also be echoed in the US. However the S&P, which contains a significant number of tech stocks, will find support in good earnings from Google and IBM, and is expected to open unchanged at 1096.5. The session will be influenced by earnings news from General Electric and Bank of America.