Stocks set for worst week since March amid tech rout

South Africa’s main stock index slid 0.7% as of 2:19 p.m. in Johannesburg as local market giant Naspers bore the brunt of a global rout in tech shares, outweighing a rebound in banks and resurgent gold miners. The benchmark index is on course for its worst week since March after falling 3.4% since Monday.

A rotation by investors out of the world’s high-flying tech shares saw China’s Tencent lead Hong Kong equities lower for a second day in Hong Kong, pulling Naspers, which holds a 31% stake in Tencent through its Prosus NV unit, down 3.6% to a two-week low. Prosus itself tumbled 3.5%. Luxury retailer Richemont retreated 1.7% to be the second-biggest decliner by index points.

An index of gold stocks snapped three days of losses, climbing 2.4% as gold rose and the dollar steadied ahead of the release of the key monthly US jobs report Friday.

• Gold Fields +4.1%, AngloGold Ashanti +1.2%, Harmony Gold +1.1%

Index of bank stocks climbs for the first day in three, rising 2.1%.

• Absa Group +4.4% after an upgrade from SBG, Standard Bank +2.1%, Capitec Bank +1.9%, FirstRand +2.1%, Nedbank Group +1.8%