* Top-40 rises 0.5 percent to 30,050.04
* Retailers weaker after sales figures
JOHANNESBURG, June 13 (Reuters) – South African shares rose
slightly on Wednesday with investors returning to major platinum
miner Impala Platinum, seen as relatively cheap after
being beaten down for weeks due to the fall in the spot price of
the precious metal.
Trade was thin with many market players waiting for the
results of elections in Greece this weekend that will have a
huge impact on the euro zone, which is South Africa’s biggest
trading bloc partner and the main export market for its
manufactured goods.
The benchmark index Top-40 index ended 0.56 percent
stronger at 30,050.04. The broader All-share index
gained 0.54 percent to 34,037.83.
“There has not been any driving activity today,” said
Michael Carlsson, a trader at Consilium Capital. “Everyone is
sitting back and waiting for Sunday’s Greek elections.”
Share prices in Johannesburg were negative for most of the
day but turned positive in late afternoon when European shares
cut losses.
Implats was the best-performing Top-40 stock, rising nearly
4 percent to 141.69 rand. The price is still down 15 percent
this year.
Coal of Africa, a small producer, rose nearly 5
percent to 4.88 rand after the company said its estimated
reserves in the Greater Soutpansberg area stood at 8 billion
tonnes, an increase of over 400 percent from previous estimates.
Continued…
