South African stocks treaded water on Monday ahead of a budget speech later in the week, even as investors continued to hammer Johannesburg-listed bullion producers such as AngloGold Ashanti. South African Finance Minister Nhlanhla Nene will deliver his maiden budget speech on Wednesday in which he is expected to try to assuage concerns about South Africa's economy.
"Everyone is awaiting Wednesday's comments from the new finance minister and CPI data to see if that gives any direction to the markets," said Kyle Dutton, a stock broker at Mercato Financial Services. September's inflation statistics are also scheduled for release on Wednesday. Consumer inflation rose to 6.4 percent in August, faster than the 6.2 percent analysts had expected. The central bank anticipates 2014 inflation at 6.2 percent.
The Top-40 index was down 0.6 percent to 42,479 while the All-share index lost 0.5 percent to 47,599. Johannesburg's gold mining index dropped more than 3 percent with AngloGold losing nearly 4 percent to 109.35 rand. The stock has lost more than 10 percent so far this year. Gold Fields, South Africa's second-biggest gold producer, lost 3 percent to 41.20 rand even after saying it was on track to meet its full-year output forecast.
Auto parts maker Metair Investments rose more than 10 percent after giving a positive trading update. Activity was relatively sluggish with 163 million shares traded, according to preliminary bourse data, compared to last year's daily average of 176 million shares. Decliners outnumbered advancers 165 to 125.
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