JOHANNESBURG: South African stocks ended Friday slightly lower as subdued commodity prices and concerns about Chinese growth pulled resource shares down, although other sectors were propped up by global market relief over the outcome of Scotland's referendum. Shares on the back foot included iron ore producer Kumba , which shed 1.15 percent.
Bullion producers were also under pressure as the precious metal was poised for its third straight weekly drop in the face of dollar gains, with Johannesburg's Gold Mining index shedding 0.15 percent.
On the upside, shares of e-commerce firm Naspers added 2.1 percent, extending gains from the previous session after brokerage house UBS raised its rating for the group to 'buy' from 'neutral'.
UBS cited "the structural growth opportunities in both its PayTV business, and unlisted internet assets." World equities rallied on Friday as Scotland's decision to stay in the United Kingdom lifted Europe and got investors over the latest in a recent run of tricky global political hurdles, helping minimise losses in Johannesburg where the market was positive for much of the session.
The benchmark Top-40 index slipped 0.14 percent to 46,163 while the wider All-share index dropped 0.16 percent to 51,462. Both indices remain near life highs scaled in July but with commodity prices on the wane, the market might struggle to reach them again anytime soon.
"The commodity story is not looking great, so for the overall JSE I can't see what else can push us higher at the moment," said Abri du Plessis, chief investment officer at Gryphon Asset Management. "The rest of the market is just being pulled up by easy monetary policy globally."
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