South African stocks closed higher on Thursday, lifted by a gain of more than 7 percent by e-commerce and media giant Naspers. Naspers was buoyed by Tencent Holdings, by far its biggest investment, whose stock climbed sharply after China's biggest social network and online entertainment company posted a 19 percent rise in second-quarter revenue. Shares in Naspers were up 7.7 percent at 1,750 rand but had been trading above 2,000 rand as recently as April, easing off it's highest level on possible profit-taking.
"Naspers is looking pretty attractive at these levels," said Ryan Woods, senior trader at Independent Securities. After stocks fell more than 3 percent on Wednesday, many investors went "bargain hunting" on Thursday, said Woods. The bourse's recovery was broad-based, with only four of the stocks on the Johannesburg Securities Exchange's Top 40 Index ending in the red.
Long-term insurers MMI Holdings rose 2.5 percent to 29.20 rand and Sanlam advanced 2.3 percent to 65.50 rand. Private hospital group Mediclinic International gained 2.5 percent to 103.77 rand. But resource stocks bucked the trend and held back the gains of the broader index, with both Anglo American Platinum and AngloGold Ashanti dropping by more than 4 percent. The platinum miner was 4.6 percent lower on 282.15 rand, while the gold producer shed 4.33 percent to 82.99 rand. The Top-40 index ended 2 percent higher at 45,877 points and the broader Allshare index snapped a gain of 1.59 percent to 51,375. Trading activity on the exchange was muted with 180 million shares changing hands, below last year's daily average of 183 million shares.
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