THE JSE closed firmer on Thursday as it tracked European markets firmer.

The local bourse remained resilient throughout the day after being lifted by a rally in gold shares.

At 5pm local time, the JSE all-share index was up 0,48% to 33,046.13 points, with the gold index adding 4,54%, resources gaining 0,92%,however, platinum counters were down 0,07%.

Financials garnered 0,50%, banking stocks edged up 0,38% while industrials were up 0,12%.

The rand was trading at R8,34 to the US dollar, from R8,32 at the JSE's close on Wednesday, while gold was quoted at $1570,98 a troy ounce from $1588,85/oz at the JSE's previous close and platinum was at $1429,50/oz, from $1462,70/oz at the previous session.

The JSE was firmer on the back of improvements in Europe relative to US futures, according to a local dealer.

The MPC announcement of an unchanged repo rate had little effect on the market. The dealer said the unchanged stance was not unexpected.

Commenting on the strong performance by gold counters, another dealer said the weaker rand was one factor.

"I'm struggling to find reasons that would just the rally other than the weaker rand and the fact that they are oversold."

Investec Asset Management observed that resource equity valuations appeared generally attractive, with energy and certain mid-cap gold equity valuations in particular looking compelling in the current environment not least because they are less dependent on the China growth story.

Dow Jones Newswires reported that US stocks were flat as investors shrugged off data showing a slight decline in jobless claims, a bit of a recovery in durable goods growth and broad strength in European markets.