South Africa stocks hit as global growth worries deepen

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South African shares tumbled 3 percent on Wednesday, as widening concerns about global growth hit equities around the world and weighed on Johannesburg's resource-reliant market. Investors punished mining heavyweights such as Anglo American and Impala Platinum after the World Bank cut its growth forecasts for the next two years, fuelling fears of slower demand for commodities. "There is definitely a bit of concern coming into the market with regard to growth projections by the World Bank on the world economy, which has already been downgraded," said Ferdi Heyneke, a portfolio manager at Afrifocus Securities. "This is putting pressure on the mining and the resource companies." The JSE Top-40 index lost 3.2 percent to 42,038, while the broader All-Share index dropped 2.8 percent to 48,057. The Top-40 clocked up its biggest one-day fall in six years last week, tumbling nearly 4 percent. Anglo American and Impala Platinum led the losses on the mostly red bourse, falling 8.7 percent and 8.2 percent respectively. Tiger Brands Ltd, South Africa's biggest maker of consumer foods, was the only blue-chip advancer, gaining 2.1 percent to 360 rand. Analysts have said the producer of "Tastic" brand rice and "Koo" canned foods is likely to benefit from the decline in oil prices as lower petrol prices will give consumers extra money for food. Trade was robust, with 222 million shares changing hands in the session, compared with last year's daily average of 183 million shares.