* Top-40 slips 1 percent
* Gold miners down as bullion prices fall
JOHANNESBURG Jan 5 (Reuters) – South African stocks
closed lower on Thursday for the first time in four days, with
the Top-40 index falling more than 1 percent, dragged
down by blue-chip telecoms firm MTN and gold miners.
MTN, Africa’s biggest mobile operator, plunged 5.4 percent
to 132.06 rand, extending losses to 8 percent this year, amid
fears that U.S. and European sanctions will hit the economy of
Iran, one of its key non-African markets.
An announcement that it would spend $1 billion in 2012 in
Nigeria, its biggest market, and the licensing of a rival
operator in Cameroon also dampened sentiment towards the stock,
said Bruno van Eck, a trader at Thebe Stockbroking.
“It is one of the biggest stocks on the market, so it is
obviously pushing the market into negative territory,” he said.
Valued at $32.5 billion, MTN is the fourth-largest company
on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange.
The bourse’s benchmark index edged 1.05 percent lower to
29,058.39, while the broader All-share index fell 0.91
percent to 32,599.06.
Spot gold’s fall from a high of $1,625.36 to as low as
$1,596.24 on the day also made miners such as Harmony
and Gold Fields less desirable.
Continued…
