South African stocks ended flat on Friday as a 9 percent surge in e-commerce and media giant Naspers was offset by a sell-off in mining companies, which were hit by tumbling metal prices. Naspers, Africa's largest company by market value, hit a record high in intraday trade after it said it would tie up with Norway's Schibsted in some emerging markets, including fast-growing Brazil where they have battled each other for years.
It finished up 9 percent at 1,555.00 rand. The benchmark Top-40 index ended up 0.03 percent at 45,134. The broad All-Share index ticked up 0.02 percent to 50,598. Shares of AngloGold Ashanti, Africa's largest gold producer, dropped 3.3 percent to 96.25 rand. Gold slid 1 percent to $1,150 an ounce, remaining pinned below the $1,200 price that is seen a "tipping point" by some analysts that will herald shaft closures.
For the last six months, South African gold producers have underperformed the metal price, with the Johannesburg index of gold mining companies dropping by a third while gold has lost about 10 percent, according to Thomson Reuters data. Platinum miners were also hammered, as the precious metal fell to a five-year low of $1,179.50 an ounce. Impala Platinum dropped 3.7 percent to 78.02 rand. Trade was active 225 million shares changing hands, well above last year's daily average of 176 million.
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