* Top-40 adds 0.35 pct, closes below 29,400
* Iran’s woes drag MTN shares
By Helen Nyambura-Mwaura
JOHANNESBURG, Jan 4 (Reuters) – South Africa’s Top-40
index of blue chips failed to break a key technical
resistance level on Wednesday despite investor interest in gold
producers such as Harmony Gold and AngloGold Ashanti
.
The spot gold was last up 0.6 percent on the day at
$1,611.24 an ounce, lifting world no. 3 gold miner AngloGold 2.8
percent to 360.22 rand and smaller rival Harmony 3 percent to
99.52 rand.
“It’s mainly a resource story at the moment,” said Desmond
Reilly, portfolio manager at PSG Konsult. “The gold prices are
still sitting around the $1,600 mark. It has picked up nicely
from last week.”
The benchmark blue-chip index ended 0.35 percent higher at
29,366.92, after a nearly 3 percent jump on Tuesday. For most of
the session, the index was above 29,400 – a level it has now
pierced several times since October, but failed each time to
stay above.
The broader All-share index gained 0.4 percent to
32,899.68.
A convincing run above 29,400 or 29,500 could open up the
Top-40 for further gains.
Continued…
