The JSE was firmer in noon trade on Tuesday, led by a recovery in resources and particularly platinum stocks on the back of higher commodity prices.
A local trader said bargain hunting was broad based.
At noon, the JSE all share index was 1.01 percent higher, with resources up 2.16 percent, gold miners adding 2.00 percent and platinum miners collecting 3.32.
Banks were up 0.37 percent, financials added 0.26 percent and industrials moved up 0.19 percent.
The rand was bid at 7.44 to the dollar from 7.55 when the JSE closed on Monday. Gold was quoted at $1108.76 a troy ounce from $1087.89 at the JSE's last close, and platinum was at $1550/oz, from $1544/oz at the bourse's previous close.
"The market is up nicely. We're rallying a bit out of oversold levels. The Dow futures have turned positive and the market is finding some bargains at the moment," a local equities trader said.
Another trader said it was not unexpected to see a recovery after the market got hit quite hard.
"Last year we saw similar dips and the market always gets bought back," he said.
He added that commodity prices are starting to recover as the euro picked up a bit.
"The euro has been weak – but we are starting to see gold and platinum prices ticking up and the oil price is rising too. We are seeing some buying now at what have been pretty much oversold levels on the shares."
He added there is still some nervousness around and company results will continue to be watched.
"The volatility will continue for some time, but we seem to be at levels where bargain hunters have come back into the market."
Mines minister Susan Shabangu on Tuesday moved to allay investor concerns that there may be a shift in South Africa's mines policy, but trader said her remarks had had little impact on the market thus far.
Speaking during a press conference on the site of the Mining Indaba, Shabangu was emphatic about the fact that there would be no change to the country's minerals laws and she dismissed talk of the nationalisation of the countries mines as the youth (flexing muscles intellectually).
"In my lifetime there'll be no nationalisation," said Shabangu.
Dow Jones Newswires reports that European stock markets were mostly lower Tuesday, as traders proved reluctant to put more cash on the table ahead of this week's key economic data releases and central bank meetings, while earnings from oil giant BP Plc weighed on the oil and gas sector as the company missed analyst expectations.
"Despite the triple-digit rally in the U.S. yesterday, confidence still remains downbeat. There is a clear sense of nervousness across markets as a raft of economic data crosses screens this week, culminating in Friday's U.S. nonfarm [payrolls]," said Owen Ireland, analyst at ODL Securities.
By 0900 GMT, the pan-European Stoxx 600 index was down 0.2 percent at 247.87. London's FTSE 100 was 0.4 percent lower at 5225.21, Frankfurt's Dax declined 0.2 percent to 5639.47 and Paris's Cac-40 fell 0.3 percent to 3749.06.
Meanwhile, Asian markets ended mixed Tuesday, with Australian shares rising after the country's central bank surprised traders with its decision to keep rates on hold.
The surprise move "will certainly please Australian households and provide a more sustainable platform for consumer spending and hence economic growth moving forward," said IG Markets research analyst Ben Potter. Still, "while today's rebound was positive, it will take more than one day's price action before we can declare the current downtrend as over."
Auto makers pushed Japanese stocks higher as Toyota Motor took steps to fix recalled vehicles, though their South Korean rivals declined in Seoul after a string of recent gains.
Japan's Nikkei 225 advanced 1.6 percent, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 added 1.8 percent and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose 0.1 percent. South Korea's Kospi fell 0.7 percent, the Shanghai Composite lost 0.2 percent, and Taiwan's Taiex shed 1.3 percent.
On Wall Street Monday, stocks rose as better-than-expected quarterly earnings from Exxon Mobil and a rebound in crude oil prices lifted the energy sector, while materials stocks were boosted by a rise in metals futures.
Overall, the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 1.1 percent to 10 185.53, marking its first rise in three sessions and its biggest one-day gain since 4 January.
