South Africa's main stock indices notched up record highs on Monday, taking their cue from an upbeat tone in major overseas markets, with gold shares among the top gainers as the price of bullion advanced. The benchmark JSE Top-40 index gained 0.46 percent to 45,137.07, not far from a 45,195.26 record achieved earlier. The broader All-share index also ended 0.4 percent higher at 50,134.53.
"This some sort of a reaction to positive US jobs data that came out on Friday," said Lavan Gopaul, chief investment officer at Trademar Futures. "Bear in mind that was the third consecutive month when jobs were created and that's something to celebrate." Gold mining shares dominated the gainers' list among the bluechips as the price of the yellow metal edged above $1,250 an ounce.
AngloGold Ashanti was up 1.86 percent at 169.50 rand, Harmony Gold climbed 3.3 percent at 29.10 and Gold Fields picked up 1.38 percent to 38.25 rand. Kap International rallied 6.56 percent after the manufacturing firm said it had agreed to sell its footwear business for an undisclosed amount. Volumes were thin, with 115 million shares, or about 60 percent of the daily average, changing hands. Decliners matched advancers at 160 apiece.
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