Johannesburg - South African stocks ended a four-week bull run on Tuesday as concerns about falling metal prices, ratings downgrades and a broader emerging market sell-off hit heavyweight mining companies.
The eight worst performers on the blue-chip index were all resource firms producing either gold, platinum or iron.
Diversified mining group Exxaro sunk more than 4%, the biggest drop on the Top-40 index. The blue-ship benchmark was down 0.4% to 44 981 and the All-share shed 0.3% to 50 355.
Spot platinum prices remained below $1 200 and while gold recouped some losses from the previous session, one hedge fund expects bullion to fall towards $800-$900 an ounce, levels last seen during the financial crisis.
The spot price for iron ore is currently at $75.50, down 40% this year.
Ratings agencies have also underscored fears about the South African economy, slapping the country and some companies with a string of credit downgrades.
"On the back of that, we are not too popular on the world markets at the moment, and that is one of the reasons why the South African market is seeing a bit of a hit at the moment," said Bruno van Eck, a trader at Thebe Stockbroking.
Standard & Poor's affirmed power utility Eskom's BBB- rating with a negative outlook, citing risks involved with a government financial support package.
The move followed Moody's ratings downgrade of the five biggest banks by a notch on Monday.
Bullion producer AngloGold Ashanti lost more than 3 percent despite news it planned to cut staff through voluntary severance packages.