South Africa Stocks Rally to Record as Tencent Surge Boosts Naspers

(Bloomberg) -- South Africa’s main stocks index jumped 2.1% as of 10:07 a.m. in Johannesburg, setting a fresh intraday record, as Naspers Ltd. was lifted by a surge in partly owned Chinese online giant Tencent Holdings Ltd. Retailer Woolworths Holdings Ltd. was also among the leading gainers, soaring the most since 1998 after an upbeat trading statement.

Asian stocks and U.S. and European equity futures rose 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 NV, 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 Dec. 27.

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

• Foschini Group Ltd. +1.4%, Truworths International Ltd. +0.5%, Cashbuild Ltd. +1.1%, Massmart Holdings Ltd. +0.4%
• Food and drug retailers rise 1.1%
  • Shoprite Holdings Ltd. +2%, Spar Group Ltd. +1.6%, Pick n Pay Stores Ltd. +2.2%, Bid Corp Ltd. +0.4%, Clicks Group Ltd. +0.4%, Dis-Chem Pharmacies Ltd. +2.6%

Gauge of mining stocks rose 0.7% as gold producers joined diversified miners to drive the index higher.

• BHP Group Plc +0.8%, Anglo American Plc +0.3%, Glencore Plc +1%,
• Gold sector rose 2.7% to the highest intraday level in more than a week, shaking off weakness in bullion prices.
  • AngloGold Ashanti Ltd. +4.1%, Gold Fields Ltd. +2.3%, DRDGold Ltd. +1.7%, Pan African Resources Plc +1.6%
  • Harmony Gold Mining Co. +3.6% as company said it is on track to meet its output guidance for 2021.
• Platinum producers rose 0.6%
  • Impala Platinum Holdings Ltd. +1.1%, Northam Platinum Ltd. +1.8%, Sibanye Stillwater Ltd. +0.5%, Royal Bafokeng Platinum Ltd. +1.1%.

Index of bank stocks drops for a fourth consecutive session, falling 1.4% to the lowest intraday level since Jan. 5, with lenders among those causing the biggest drag on the index.

• FirstRand Ltd. -1.5%, Capitec Bank Holdings Ltd. -1.8%, Standard Bank Group Ltd. -1%, Absa Group Ltd. -1.1%, Nedbank Group Ltd. -0.8%, Investec Ltd. -0.5%

Old Mutual Ltd. drops 1.7% after profit warning, dragging insurers down 0.8%

• Sanlam Ltd. -0.7%, Momentum Metropolitan Holdings -1.2%, Discovery Ltd. -0.1%, Liberty Holdings Ltd. -0.6%

Foreigners remained net sellers of South African stocks for a third consecutive day Friday, disposing of 266 million rand worth of shares, according to exchange operator JSE Ltd.

You want more news on this market? Click here for a curated First Word channel of actionable news from Bloomberg and select sources. It can be customized to your preferences by clicking into Actions on the toolbar or hitting the HELP key for assistance.