* Lonmin shares jump 7 pct
* Top-40 rises 0.4 pct
By Tshepo Tshabalala
JOHANNESBURG, Oct 30 (Reuters) – South African stocks rose
on Tuesday in trade diminished by a massive U.S. storm that shut
Wall Street while prices of platinum mining firms were buoyed by
a smaller-than-expected cash call from Lonmin .
Johannesburg-traded shares in the company rose over 7
percent despite Lonmin’s $800 million rights issue. The platinum
producer found itself in a cash crunch due to a wildcat strike
that started in August and paralysed its South Africa
production.
Investors had been nervous the mining company would have
required as much as $1.5 billion – about equal to its market
value.
“It’s a positive and the whole platinum sector has come into
favour today,” said Greg Davies, a trader at Cratos Capital.
The Top-40 index added 0.38 percent to 33,003.14
and the wider All-Share index rose 0.42 percent to
37,147.02.
The index for platinum miners gained 2.4 percent on
the back on Lonmin.
Continued…
