Local shares rally to record on Tencent-fuelled surge in Naspers

South Africa’s main share index jumped 2.1% as of 10.07am in Johannesburg, setting a fresh intraday record, as Naspers was lifted by a surge in partly owned Chinese online giant Tencent.

Retailer Woolworths was also among the leading gainers, soaring the most since 1998 after an upbeat trading statement.

Asian stocks and US and European equity futures rose on Monday as investors focused on the prospect of additional fiscal stimulus and supportive Federal Reserve policy amid the worsening pandemic.

Naspers advanced as much as 8.1%, the most in 10 months, to a new all-time high as Tencent jumped 11% in Hong Kong, the most since 2011. Naspers subsidiary, Prosus, which holds the company’s 31% stake in Tencent, climbed 7.4% to the highest level since the company was carved out of the tech investor in September 2019.

Woolworths climbed 15% after saying it experienced improved trading momentum across all businesses in the final six weeks of the period ended 27 December.

Woolworths led gains in an index of general retailers, which climbs as much as 3.2%, rising for a third day.

A gauge of mining stocks rose 0.7% as gold producers joined diversified miners to drive the index higher. An index of bank stocks dropped for a fourth consecutive session, falling 1.4% to the lowest intraday level since 5 January, with lenders among those causing the biggest drag on the index.  — Reported by Adelaide Changole, (c) 2021 Bloomberg LP