Decline in mining stocks sees the JSE fall from record high

South African stocks eased in late trade yesterday after swinging to an alltime high with the FTSE/JSE All Share Index (Alsi) breaching the 69 000 point mark for the first time before retreating and ending the day in the red.

The JSE benchmark index rallied more than 1.8 percent to 69 403 points during early trade as rising commodity prices lifted assets.

But the Alsi reversed the gains to close 0.27 percent lower at 68 326 points, dragged down by mining stocks as the gold spot price fell 0.76 percent to $1 709 (about R25 655) an ounce.

Major losses were recorded by resources and mining stocks as both indices lost 1.51 percent and 1.61 percent to 69 437 points and 66 173 points, respectively.

African Mineral Resources fell 4.22 percent to R284.63 per share, BHP was 3.8 percent down to R473.37, while Anglo American eased 0.53 percent to R611.86 per share.