SA stocks post best quarter since 2001
JOHANNESBURG – South African stocks are about to round off their strongest quarter in almost two decades, and the influence of the coronavirus pandemic is clear to see in the shares most responsible for driving the market higher.
The FTSE/JSE Africa All Share Index has climbed 22 percent since the start of April, its best performance over any quarter since 2001. Emerging-market stocks, heading for their biggest gains since 2009, are up 18 percent . South Africa’s benchmark ranks eighth over the period among 93 major global indexes tracked by Bloomberg as of Monday’s close. It’s within 5 percent of erasing 2020’s losses.
AngloGold Ashanti Ltd. and Gold Fields Ltd. are among the leading index-point contributors to the gains, as the uncertain times push traders toward the haven of bullion. Tech investor Naspers has prospered as the Covid-19 lockdown strengthened the hand of partly owned Chinese online giant Tencent Holdings, spurring it to record highs in Hong Kong.
Source: iol.co.za
