South African stocks hit by global sell-off, ascendant rand

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South African stocks logged their biggest one-day decline in a month on Thursday, sliding 2 percent as weak overseas economic data and a firmer rand hit everything from commodities exporters to retailers. Even companies with relatively solid results didn't escape the sell-off. Investment bank and asset manager Investec dropped 3 percent to 100.62 rand, despite posting a 14 percent rise in first-half earnings. World stocks extended losses as evidence suggested the Chinese and European economies -- both key trading partners for South Africa -- were slowing. "The downward turn in Europe is putting pressure on our market," said Kyle Dutton of brokerage Mercato Financial Services. "The rand strengthened on the back of the monetary policy committee meeting and that just pushed things further down." The rand firmed 1 percent after the central bank left interest rates unchanged at 5.75 percent, citing the lower trajectory of headline inflation and continued economic weakness. A stronger rand is a negative for South African exporters, including commodity firms, as it eats into profits when overseas earnings are brought home. The benchmark Top-40 index dropped 1.9 percent to 43,676. The broader All-Share fell 1.8 percent 49,272. Platinum producer Anglo American Platinum tumbled 5.7 percent to 366 rand. Shoprite, Africa's largest retailer, lost 4.8 percent to 162.49 rand. Woolworths Holdings fell 3.4 percent to 78.24 rand. The high-end retailer, whose products range from ostrich burgers to organic cotton socks, reported a 48 percent jump in sales for the first 20 weeks of its financial year, lifted by the acquisition of Australia's David Jones. However, without the impact of the acquisition, sales rose 12 percent, lower than a year earlier. Trade was active, with 227 million shares changing hands, according to preliminary bourse data, well above last year's daily average of 176 million shares.