South African Stocks Advance as Trump Health Lifts Risk Appetite

(Bloomberg) -- South Africa’s main stock index rises 0.3% in early Johannesburg trading, as index giant Richemont advances, and as MultiChoice Group soars.

MultiChoice gains as much as 9.2%, the biggest intraday jump since June 10, after the company announced that France’s Groupe Canal+ SA had acquired a 6.5% stake. Monday’s increase extends MultiChoice’s winning streak to nine days, the longest on record.

South Africa joins markets in Europe and Asia in rising Monday as traders react to the possibility of President Donald Trump being able to leave hospital as soon as Monday after treatment for Covid-19. But Trump’s condition remains clouded by confusion, with the president’s effort to show strength contradicted by conflicting accounts from his doctors.

• Richemont jumps 3.5%, providing the biggest boost to the index. UBS raised its price target on the stock on Friday.
• MTN Group Ltd. rises for a second day, up 2.8%, while British American Tobacco Plc adds 1.3%
• Food & drug retailers gain 1.2%, led by Bid Corp Ltd.
  • Bid Corp +2.4%, Shoprite Holdings Ltd. +0.6%, Clicks Group Ltd. +0.5%, Spar Group Ltd. +0.5%, Dis-Chem Pharmacies Ltd. +0.2%
• Index for bank stocks up 0.4%
  • Absa Group Ltd. +1%, Standard Bank Group Ltd. +0.4%, Investec Plc +1.5%, Nedbank Group Ltd. +0.7%
• Gold and platinum stocks drag gauge for miners down 0.6%
  • Sub-index for gold companies falls 2.2%
    • Gold Fields Ltd. -2.1%, AngloGold Ashanti Ltd. -1.8%, Harmony Gold Mining Co. -2.6%, DRDGold Ltd. -1.7%
  • Sub-index for platinum companies down 0.5%
    • Sibanye Stillwater Ltd. -2%, Northam Platinum Ltd. -0.7%
  • Diversified miners BHP Group PLc +0.3%, Anglo American Plc +0.3%, Glencore Plc +0.5%
• Foreigners were net sellers of South African stocks on Friday, disposing of 183 million rand worth of shares, according to exchange operator JSE Ltd.

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