THE JSE ended a choppy session higher on Friday‚ lifted mainly by resource stocks such as Sasol.

The JSE all share gained 0.33% to 50‚763.71 points by close. The blue-chip top 40 index picked up 0.47% on the day.

The resource index lifted 1.22% as large-cap diversified miners staged some recovery from the sell-off in the previous session.

“The positive close on the all-share index is perhaps not a true reflection of the underlying equity market performance as a whole‚” IG SA market analyst Shaun Murison said.

“The resource sector was the only sector of the market with any real gains today‚ while the industrial 25 sector was held up by continued outperformance of heavily weighted industrial rand-hedge counter‚ SABMiller.”

Leading European shares were weaker in late trade‚ with UK’s FTSE 100 losing 0.87% while the Dow Jones industrial average was up 0.2%.

Leading European shares were marginally weaker in early trade, with UK’s FTSE 100 losing 0.35%.

Sasol surged 4.30% to a record high of R645.10 due higher Brent crude and weaker rand.

“Escalating tension between Iraqi forces and Islamist militants in Iraq has provided the catalyst for the sharp increase in the oil price, as concern draws over the threat of contagion to other Opec nations as well,” Mr Murison said.

African Rainbow Minerals was down 1.56% to R186.

SABMiller lifted 1.84% to R620.70, while Barloworld gave up 1.07% to R102.95.

Harmony was off 2.83% to R30.93, with Sibanye Gold giving up 3.99% to R24.80.

Nedbank gave up 1.83% to R230.05 while African Bank Investments recovered 2.31% to R7.52.

Telkom gained 1.16% to R42.63 after the mobile and fixed-line operator posted a 35%.1% rise headline earnings per share, excluding one-off items, to 388c in the year to March.