Johannesburg, Jan 23 (I-Net Bridge) - South African near-dated futures ended higher on Monday, tracking firmer global sentiment.
The local near-dated Alsi contract gained 252 points, or 0.83%, to 30,475.
The rand was trading at R7.9159 against the US dollar, from R7.9442 at the previous close, while gold was quoted at US$1,674.35 a troy ounce from US$1,663.47/oz before.
The total number of contracts that exchanged hands was 30,337 from 29,866 on Friday.
Dow Jones Newswires reported that US stocks moved higher, with Greece's debt-swap talks in focus as eurozone finance ministers convened for budget talks.
European markets traded higher. Investors showed healthy demand at a German auction of short-term debt, while investors kept an eye on Greece as it negotiates a potential debt-restructuring agreement with its private creditors.
Greece's debt issues are expected to dominate a meeting between eurozone finance ministers in Brussels on Monday, ahead of a meeting between all 27 European Union finance ministers on Tuesday.
"It looks like the market is still hopeful for a deal," said Joe Bell, senior equity analyst at Schaeffer's Investment Research. It would be a "big negative" for stocks should the debt-swap deal fall through, but for now, "the market is assuming that deal is going to get done."
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