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Johannesburg - The JSE rose 0.6% on Thursday, as gold producers advanced on hopes a strike by tens of thousands of miners might end sooner than initially expected.
Shares of Sanlam edged up 0.4% to R46.95. The life insurer posted a 43% jump in first-half profit, lifted by earnings from its new businesses in Malaysia and India.
The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) launched a strike in the country's gold shafts Tuesday night over wages. On Wednesday two junior producers signed agreements for lower-than-expected wage hikes, bolstering confidence the strike could soon be over.
"The sentiment surrounding the strike has been effectively moderated by deals with smaller producers. It means that the NUM is more amenable and the likelihood of a prolonged strike is no longer there," said David Davis, mining investment analyst at SBG Securities in Johannesburg.
Johannesburg's blue-chip Top-40 index added 0.61% to 38,399.42. The broader All-share index climbed 0.65% to 42,797.21.
Both indices are not far off historic peaks reached last month, though most analysts attribute the performance to global investment flows and not local fundamentals.
Africa's top bullion producer AngloGold Ashanti was the second-biggest gainer among blue chips - after posting the steepest decline the previous session - rising 3% to R139.22. Smaller rival Harmony Gold ended 1.75% higher at just shy of R40.
That helped the overall market claw back some of the previous day's losses. Johannesburg shares have gained in three out of four days this week after suffering their biggest weekly fall in two months.
Trade picked up after being subdued much of the week, with around 169 million shares changing hands, according to preliminary bourse data. Advancers outnumbered decliners 170 to 123 with 53 shares unchanged.
Shares of Sanlam edged up 0.4% to R46.95. The life insurer posted a 43% jump in first-half profit, lifted by earnings from its new businesses in Malaysia and India.
The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) launched a strike in the country's gold shafts Tuesday night over wages. On Wednesday two junior producers signed agreements for lower-than-expected wage hikes, bolstering confidence the strike could soon be over.
"The sentiment surrounding the strike has been effectively moderated by deals with smaller producers. It means that the NUM is more amenable and the likelihood of a prolonged strike is no longer there," said David Davis, mining investment analyst at SBG Securities in Johannesburg.
Johannesburg's blue-chip Top-40 index added 0.61% to 38,399.42. The broader All-share index climbed 0.65% to 42,797.21.
Both indices are not far off historic peaks reached last month, though most analysts attribute the performance to global investment flows and not local fundamentals.
Africa's top bullion producer AngloGold Ashanti was the second-biggest gainer among blue chips - after posting the steepest decline the previous session - rising 3% to R139.22. Smaller rival Harmony Gold ended 1.75% higher at just shy of R40.
That helped the overall market claw back some of the previous day's losses. Johannesburg shares have gained in three out of four days this week after suffering their biggest weekly fall in two months.
Trade picked up after being subdued much of the week, with around 169 million shares changing hands, according to preliminary bourse data. Advancers outnumbered decliners 170 to 123 with 53 shares unchanged.
