JOHANNESBURG, April 23 (Reuters) – South African stocks hit a record peak for the second consecutive session on Thursday, led higher by Kumba Iron Ore as the miner posted upbeat production figures and pledged to cut costs.
Kumba jumped 8.3 percent to 144.27 rand, making it the biggest gainer on the Top-40 index.
“Kumba results came out and they beat estimates on the production numbers which has been very positive,” said Bernhard Grobler, head of Johannesburg stock broking at Investec
Global mining company Anglo American was up 3.7 percent after announcing plans to reduce diamond production this year in response to lower prices. The company also owns a majority stake in Kumba.
Telecoms company MTN gained 2 percent to 230.97 rand following a 16.7 percent rise in quarterly data revenue.
The benchmark JSE Top-40 index rose 0.8 percent to 48,411 and the broader All-share index was up 0.9 percent to 54,687 with both closing at record highs for the second day running.
Other gainers on the bourse included health and beauty group Clicks up 2.8 percent to 98.26 rand after H1 results showed higher earnings.
On the downside, Hulamin Ltd closed at the bottom of the index, down 13.41 percent to 7.10 rand, after saying half-year profit likely fell more than 20 percent
AngloGold Ashanti lost 3.1 percent to 133 rand after HSBC reduced its target price from 164 rand to 150 rand.
Turnover was just slightly below average with 181 million shares changing hands, compared with last year’s daily average of 183 million shares. (Reporting By Tendai Dube; Editing by Joe Brock)
