South African stocks extended their weekly gains on Friday with mobile operator Vodacom leading the gainers while gold producer AngloGold Ashanti also rose, tracking an upbeat tone in overseas bullion markets. Vodacom rose 3.36 percent to 135.40 rand, its highest level in more than two months.
"Fundamentally Vodacom is a good stock. It's not ridiculously expensive and it has high dividend yields. They are also benefiting from the high demand for data in cellphones," said David Shapiro, an analyst Sasfin Holdings.
AngloGold, the world's top producer of bullion, rose 1.83 percent to 183.30 rand.
The stock was reaping the gains made by the spot price of the metal in the previous session, when it rose to nine-month highs. Gold edged lower on Friday but was still set for its biggest weekly gain in four months due to conflict in Iraq and a softer dollar.
Smaller gold-producing rivals also jumped, with Sibanye Gold up 4.93 percent to 28.30 rand, while Harmony Gold rose 6.02 percent to 31.70 rand.
"Valuations are certainly no longer inexpensive but, momentum trumps all for the moment," brokerage house Imara SP Reid said in note.
The benchmark Top-40 index edged 0.12 percent higher to 51,322. The broader All-share index inched up 0.12 percent to 46,336.
Advancers outpaced decliners 164 to 142, as 203 million shares changed hands, according to preliminary bourse data.
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