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Johannesburg - Stocks closed firmer on Wednesday as battle-beaten platinum mining stocks regained some lustre and investors took cheer from an upbeat mood on global markets.
World number three platinum miner Lonmin jumped 6.8% to R100.39, while Impala Platinum climbed 5.6% to R141.39.
Anglo American Platinum, the world's largest producer of the precious metal, gained 4% to R510.13.
The JSE Top-40 blue-chip index closed up 1.7% at 29 677.48 and the broader All-share index gained 1.47% to 33 603.35.
Johannesburg's platinum index, which has fallen nearly 9% in the last four weeks, was 5% higher as investors dug for bargains among resources stocks that have clocked sharp losses over the last three months.
The world's biggest miners also gained, with BHP Billiton and Anglo American closing 3% higher.
"Commodities is the story of the day but it is from a heavily oversold position,' said PSG Securities trader Desmond Reilly.
Most commodity prices were up fairly strongly, with platinum rising 2% and silver 4%, fuelled by hopes of another stimulus package for the debt-ridden eurozone.
"There will be a bit of follow-through on this for the rest of the week barring any negative data," Reilly said.
Telkom rebounded from Tuesday's slump to its lowest in almost nine years. It added 2.5% to R20.50.
The South African government might sell stock in Africa's biggest fixed line operator to facilitate a turnaround.
On Monday the government blocked South Korean telecommunications giant KT Corp from buying a 20% stake in Telkom, saying the stake was going too cheap.
South Africa's largest retail bank Absa posted muted gains of 0.66%, to close at R151.90 on its decision to pay $1.2bn for the store credit card business of unlisted domestic retailer Edcon.
The move will see Absa, which is majority-owned by Britain's Barclays, bulking up its presence in the high-margin but riskier unsecured lending market.
A total of 234 million shares changed hands, according to preliminary data from the exchange, just below a 200-day moving average of about 250 million shares.
World number three platinum miner Lonmin jumped 6.8% to R100.39, while Impala Platinum climbed 5.6% to R141.39.
Anglo American Platinum, the world's largest producer of the precious metal, gained 4% to R510.13.
The JSE Top-40 blue-chip index closed up 1.7% at 29 677.48 and the broader All-share index gained 1.47% to 33 603.35.
Johannesburg's platinum index, which has fallen nearly 9% in the last four weeks, was 5% higher as investors dug for bargains among resources stocks that have clocked sharp losses over the last three months.
The world's biggest miners also gained, with BHP Billiton and Anglo American closing 3% higher.
"Commodities is the story of the day but it is from a heavily oversold position,' said PSG Securities trader Desmond Reilly.
Most commodity prices were up fairly strongly, with platinum rising 2% and silver 4%, fuelled by hopes of another stimulus package for the debt-ridden eurozone.
"There will be a bit of follow-through on this for the rest of the week barring any negative data," Reilly said.
Telkom rebounded from Tuesday's slump to its lowest in almost nine years. It added 2.5% to R20.50.
The South African government might sell stock in Africa's biggest fixed line operator to facilitate a turnaround.
On Monday the government blocked South Korean telecommunications giant KT Corp from buying a 20% stake in Telkom, saying the stake was going too cheap.
South Africa's largest retail bank Absa posted muted gains of 0.66%, to close at R151.90 on its decision to pay $1.2bn for the store credit card business of unlisted domestic retailer Edcon.
The move will see Absa, which is majority-owned by Britain's Barclays, bulking up its presence in the high-margin but riskier unsecured lending market.
A total of 234 million shares changed hands, according to preliminary data from the exchange, just below a 200-day moving average of about 250 million shares.
