South African stocks were in the red in early trade on Tuesday, led down by resource and precious metal stocks after eastern markets failed to follow through on a positive close on Wall Street.

At 9.33am the JSE all share index was 0.69 percent weaker, led by resources losing 1.13 percent, gold producers giving up 1.44 percent and platinum counters declining 1.64 percent.

Banks and financials eased 0.19 percent and 0.17 percent respectively, and industrials weakened 0.45 percent.

The rand was bid at 7.52 to the dollar, from 7.47 when the JSE closed on Monday. Gold was quoted at $1163.22 a troy ounce from $1170.60 at the JSE's last close, and platinum was at $1449.50 an ounce, from $1452 at its previous close.

"We are slightly weaker. We were pushed quite hard into the close yesterday and we haven't seen a follow through in the East this morning after a positive close on the Dow," a derivatives trader said.

"Commodities are leading us down. We will probably hold at these levels until our GDP figures come out. The big number is the US GDP out later in the day," he said.

Dow Jones Newswire reported that US stocks climbed on Monday, pushing the DJIA to a new 2009 closing high as energy companies Chevron and Exxon Mobil and telecommunications giants Verizon Communications and AT&T led a broad rally.

The DJIA closed up 132.79 points, or 1.29 percent, to 10,450.95, snapping a three-day losing streak and reaching its highest close since October 2, 2008. Of its 30 components, 28 closed higher. The measure's telecom components had the biggest percentage gains, with Verizon rising 90 cents, or 3 percent, to 31.33, and AT&T climbing 76 cents, or 2.9 percent, to 26.78. Also providing a big lift, Chevron climbed 1.97, or 2.6 percent, to 78.74, while Exxon Mobil rose 1.32, or 1.8 percent, to 76.50, thanks to a rise in crude oil futures.

Monday's rise came as investors' confidence in stocks was renewed by better-than-expected existing home sales data, and St Louis Fed President James Bullard's statement on Sunday in an interview with Dow Jones Newswires that the US should continue buying mortgage-backed securities past the first quarter of 2010, when asset purchases are due to end.

Those factors had investors moving back toward the riskier areas of the market they had fled late last week. They shifted their money away from the safety of the dollar and into commodities such as crude oil and gold on Monday, with gold reaching a new record closing high.

Asian stocks are mixed despite solid gains on Wall Street on Monday, with concerns about the economic outlook taking shares down in Tokyo.

Japan's Nikkei ended down 1.0 percent and Hong Kong's Hang Seng was last down 0.2 percent.

European bourses look set to reverse course, with a bout of profit- taking setting in after some strong gains on Monday.