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Johannesburg - South African stocks fell 1% on Wednesday, led by Anglo American Platinum as investors remained cautious about recovery in the mining sector after the end of a five-month strike.
Thousands of miners downed tools at Amplats, Impala Platinum and Lonmin in January demanding higher pay, and only returned to work on Wednesday after sealing three-year wage deals with the companies.
"A lot of talk has come out about the real cost of the strike, the reality of the whole thing," said Ferdi Heyneke, portfolio manager at Afrifocus.
"There could be retrenchments which will cause volatility, and we are seeing the impact of that on the shares."
Amplats shares fell 6.16% to R457, making it the biggest decliner on the day, while Implats was down 4.05% to R109.37. Lonmin shed 3.81% to end at R43.90.
The JSE Top-40 index ended down 1.06% at 45 383 and the broader All-share index also gave up 1.06% to 50 350.
The losses extended to other mining shares, with Africa's top gold producer, AngloGold Ashanti, falling 3.08% to R175.37, while Sibanye Gold was down 3.2% to R27.51.
Trading volumes were relatively thin with about 149 million shares, or just over 70% of the daily average, changing hands. Declining shares outnumbered gainers, 234 to 101.
Thousands of miners downed tools at Amplats, Impala Platinum and Lonmin in January demanding higher pay, and only returned to work on Wednesday after sealing three-year wage deals with the companies.
"A lot of talk has come out about the real cost of the strike, the reality of the whole thing," said Ferdi Heyneke, portfolio manager at Afrifocus.
"There could be retrenchments which will cause volatility, and we are seeing the impact of that on the shares."
Amplats shares fell 6.16% to R457, making it the biggest decliner on the day, while Implats was down 4.05% to R109.37. Lonmin shed 3.81% to end at R43.90.
The JSE Top-40 index ended down 1.06% at 45 383 and the broader All-share index also gave up 1.06% to 50 350.
The losses extended to other mining shares, with Africa's top gold producer, AngloGold Ashanti, falling 3.08% to R175.37, while Sibanye Gold was down 3.2% to R27.51.
Trading volumes were relatively thin with about 149 million shares, or just over 70% of the daily average, changing hands. Declining shares outnumbered gainers, 234 to 101.
