Johannesburg – South Africa’s main indices marched to lifetime highs on Thursday, with the broad All-share index hitting 50 000 for the first time in its history, as local shares of SABMiller rising after its full-year earnings results.
Shares of IT firm Business Connexion surged 7.4% to R6.40 after fixed-line operator Telkom offered R2.7bn ($261m) in a takeover bid to build up its IT capacity.
Stock market investors showed little reaction to the central bank’s decision to keep interest rates at 5.5%.
SABMiller, which is also listed in London, rose 2.6% to R586.92. The brewer of Peroni beer and Castle Lager reported a 1% increase in full-year earnings, but also announced a new cost-savings target.
“There is a broad spectrum of good sentiment regarding SA companies earnings on the dual-listed stocks,” said Wilmar Buys, a portfolio manager at FFO Securities.
“It is difficult though to see the market holding at these levels and there is definitely going to be some sort of profit-taking soon, especially around the platinum sector,” he said.
The benchmark Top-40 index finished up 0.47% at 44 840.03, its highest finish on record, after earlier hitting a lifetime high of 45 026.36.
The broader All-share finished up 0.49% at 49 891.36 after earlier topping 50 000 for the first time.
Platinum stocks had a mixed day as court-mediated talks to end the crippling 17 week work-stoppage between South Africa’s top three platinum producers and union Amcu entered a second day and strike-related violence claimed a fifth life after a fatal stabbing.
Lonmin fell 1.6% to 43.56 while Impala Platinum gained 0.7% to R114.99. The chief executive of Implats told Reuters in an interview that the crippling four-month strike could last much longer.
A total of 214 million shares traded hands, according to preliminary data from the Johannesburg bourse, with 188 shares advancing and 131 declining.