Johannesburg - South African stocks fell on Thursday, breaking a three-day winning streak as shares of telecoms giant MTN Group declined after the industry regulator said it would halve mobile interconnection rates sooner than previously planned.
MTN, Africa's largest mobile operator, is appealing the decision by the telecoms authority and analysts say it has a decent case but its shares still fell 1.34% to R198.
Smaller rival Vodacom, which has a bigger exposure to the domestic South African market, shed 2.3% to R116.9.
"MTN have quite a strong leg to stand on when it comes to their appeal. They invested in infrastructure to improve connectivity in South Africa and put their capital at stake when no one else was doing it," said Byron Lotter, a portfolio manager at Vestact.
The Top-40 index gave up 0.58% to close at 42 660.52, just 249 points shy of Wednesday's record.
The All-share closed 0.61% lower at 47 149.35, also narrowly below the previous session's all-time high.
On the flip side, credit retailers JD Group and Truworths gained despite writing off more bad loans, underscoring the squeeze on shoppers brought on by rising interest rates, inflation and high unemployment.
JD Group, which specialises in furniture retailing, climbed 1.40% at R25.4, while fashion outlet Truworths added 0.5% at R68.
Some 191 million shares were traded and 205 companies declined and another 101 advanced, according to preliminary bourse figures.
MTN, Africa's largest mobile operator, is appealing the decision by the telecoms authority and analysts say it has a decent case but its shares still fell 1.34% to R198.
Smaller rival Vodacom, which has a bigger exposure to the domestic South African market, shed 2.3% to R116.9.
"MTN have quite a strong leg to stand on when it comes to their appeal. They invested in infrastructure to improve connectivity in South Africa and put their capital at stake when no one else was doing it," said Byron Lotter, a portfolio manager at Vestact.
The Top-40 index gave up 0.58% to close at 42 660.52, just 249 points shy of Wednesday's record.
The All-share closed 0.61% lower at 47 149.35, also narrowly below the previous session's all-time high.
On the flip side, credit retailers JD Group and Truworths gained despite writing off more bad loans, underscoring the squeeze on shoppers brought on by rising interest rates, inflation and high unemployment.
JD Group, which specialises in furniture retailing, climbed 1.40% at R25.4, while fashion outlet Truworths added 0.5% at R68.
Some 191 million shares were traded and 205 companies declined and another 101 advanced, according to preliminary bourse figures.