March 30, 2004

By Reuters

Johannesburg - The stock market ended weaker yesterday as a strong rand sank heavyweight dual-listed shares and rand hedge stocks such as fuel group Sasol.

The rand hit its best level in nearly three months against the dollar, thanks to a huge influx of cash from the sale of a 20 percent stake in Gold Fields by Anglo American to Russia's Norilsk Nickel for R7.631 billion.

Exporters such as Sasol and Impala Platinum (Implats) slipped. Sasol gave up 1.7 percent to R96.80 and Implats ebbed nearly 3 percent to R526.

Other rand-hedge losers, whose earnings tend to dip when the rand strengthens since their revenues are often dollar denominated, included Swiss-listed luxury goods firm Richemont, which slipped 1.2 percent to R16.

The FTSE/JSE Africa all share index shaved off 0.3 percent to 10 617.35 points, also hurt by losses in Anglo, which eased 0.3 percent to R151.

Anglo's sale dominated yesterday's estimated R9.2 billion turnover on the market - about three times the daily average.
 

"Away from the Gold Fields deal, turnover would have been about R1.6 billion, which is really quiet," said one senior trader.

The rand's gains spelt good news for banking stocks and retailers, however. The banking index gained 1.3 percent and retailers notched up 0.4 percent.

Bulk retailer Massmart matched a record high, extending a month of steady gains, as investors bet on a continued rise in consumer spending and hunted out comparatively cheap stock.

Massmart jumped to a high of R31.50 and finished at R31.15 - up 0.7 percent.

South Africa's biggest steel maker, Iscor, ended 1.6 percent lower at R36.

The group said yesterday that domestic steel consumption in January and February was expected to rise by 16.7 percent year on year.