Lower spot prices hit SA’s gold producers

SOUTH African stocks hit a record high briefly on Friday, but finished the session lower as global spot bullion prices pulled local gold producers lower.

Johannesburg’s gold producers index ended 2% lower after spot prices shed as much as 0.6%.

The Top 40 index was down 0.12% to 44 929.10 after touching a lifetime high of 45 129.49 earlier in the session. The All Share index shed 0.13% to 49 933.99 after hitting a record high of 50 120.69.

One trader said that despite the slight drop SA stocks were likely to catch up with global equities, which had been boosted by a stimulus programme in Europe and encouraging US employment figures.

“That [global] market may continue to push our market up as well. We are slightly down at the moment, but it is a mixed market,” said Ferdi Heyneke, portfolio manager at Afrifocus.

“Next week, unless anything happens, this strong underlying trend could continue.”

Platinum producer Lonmin fell 2.7%. On the gold front, Harmony and Sibanye slid more than 3%. Number one, Anglo-Gold Ashanti, was down 2%.

Global equity markets rose after a solid US jobs report added to evidence of a recovering economy and strengthened a market already lifted by the European Central Bank’s pledge to douse potential deflation with bundles of cash.

MSCI’s all-country stock index rose 0.53%. The FTS Eurofirst 300 index of top European shares gained the same, closing at a preliminary 1 387.54 points.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 0.4% to 16 903.46. The S&P 500 gained 0.4% to 1 948.24, and the Nasdaq Composite added 0.52% to 4 318.49.

Spot gold was down 0.4% at $1 247.84/oz, off an earlier high of $1 257.50. Spot platinum was up 0.5% at $1 444/oz. — Reuters