The JSE edged into the black in early trade on Tuesday amid some bargain hunting and cautious trade after the market was sold off heavily on Monday, a local trader said.

At 9.15am the JSE all share index had edged up 0.20 percent, with resources inching 0.14 percent higher, and platinum and gold producers collecting 0.43 percent and 0.42 percent respectively.

Banks edged up 0.26 percent, financials were up 0.58 percent and industrials were flat, up 0.08 percent

The rand was bid at 7.89 to the dollar from 7.85 when the JSE closed on Monday. Gold was quoted at $1061.20 a troy ounce from $1060.05 at the JSE's last close, and platinum was at $1345 an ounce, from $1331 at its previous close.

"We have edged up this morning, there is a bit of bargain hunting after the market was sold off heavily yesterday," the trader said.

"We are bouncing back from those levels. The US was up last night, but Asia was mixed, so I'm not sure if we will hold.

"It's a busy week in terms of data. The rand is still weak so it might help some of these gold stocks.

"The market is a bit cautious, most stocks are trading at very high levels. I don't expect to be too strong, but maybe we will get direction from the US later in the day," she said.

Dow Jones Newswire reported that a profitable quarter for Ford and a round of better-than-expected economic data helped lead stocks higher on Monday, though the buying was concentrated in United Technologies, Procter & Gamble and other blue-chips.

In a bumpy session during which equities continued their recent intraday seesawing, stocks were initially pushed higher by reports on manufacturing, construction spending and pending home sales. From there, the morning euphoria evaporated with a decline in volatile financials weighing on the tape. Nearer to the close, however, stocks turned right back around with the broad indices closing higher.

For Monday, the DJIA gained 76.71 points, or 0.79 percent, to 9789.44, marking only the second time in eight sessions that the Dow hasn't closed with a movement of more than 100 points in either direction.

Still, that the Dow outpaced the other broad indices is a troubling sign for those in riskier investments as stock traders have spent the last few weeks shunning smaller stocks and anything else perceived as risky. Given that the year is coming to an end and the Dow remains up 50 percent in almost eight months, market participants are sceptical about whether there will be another leg to this rally.

Asian share markets are mixed on Tuesday in subdued trade as a holiday in Japan kept bourses range-bound, with gold stocks posting gains in Australia.

Japan markets were closed for holiday while Hong Kong's Hang Seng was last down 0.9 percent.

European share markets are likely to open lower shedding some of Monday's gains, as investors look past recent improvement in economic data.