Johannesburg - South African stocks extended their losing streak to a fifth straight day on Tuesday, with the blue-chip index falling below the psychologically important 40 000 level in a continuing retreat from emerging markets around the globe.
Adcock Ingram featured on the decliners' list after it became clear that the drugmaker's $1.2bn deal with Chile's CFR Pharmaceuticals is set to fail.
Shares in the company ended 2.4% lower at R61.50, bringing its losses since Friday to about 12% and wiping off around 1 billion rand ($89.03m) off its market value.
Overall, investors took their cue from sharp declines in major overseas markets on worries about the health of the US economy and the tapering of the Fed stimulus.
"There are definitely some opportunities after the recent pull back so we are starting to see some bargain hunters coming in at these levels," Deryck Janse van Rensburg, a portfolio manager at Nedbank Private Wealth.
The benchmark Top-40 index dropped 1.2% to 39 945.44, closing below the psychologically important level of 40 000 for the first time this year. The broader All-Share index declined 1.12% to 44 451.57.
The indices have fallen about 6% in the past seven sessions, hitting the oversold lines on technical charts such as the relative strength index, or RSI, and also fuelling talk the market could fall as much as 10 percent.
Vodacom topped the list of a few gainers on the benchmark index ahead of its third-quarter results on Wednesday, rising 3.5% to R119.95.
Platinum mining stocks declined further as a strike that costing the country $36m a day enters its second week.
Trade was robust with more than 250 million shares changing hands. Decliners outnumbers advancers 227 to 95 while 47 stocks were unchanged.
Adcock Ingram featured on the decliners' list after it became clear that the drugmaker's $1.2bn deal with Chile's CFR Pharmaceuticals is set to fail.
Shares in the company ended 2.4% lower at R61.50, bringing its losses since Friday to about 12% and wiping off around 1 billion rand ($89.03m) off its market value.
Overall, investors took their cue from sharp declines in major overseas markets on worries about the health of the US economy and the tapering of the Fed stimulus.
"There are definitely some opportunities after the recent pull back so we are starting to see some bargain hunters coming in at these levels," Deryck Janse van Rensburg, a portfolio manager at Nedbank Private Wealth.
The benchmark Top-40 index dropped 1.2% to 39 945.44, closing below the psychologically important level of 40 000 for the first time this year. The broader All-Share index declined 1.12% to 44 451.57.
The indices have fallen about 6% in the past seven sessions, hitting the oversold lines on technical charts such as the relative strength index, or RSI, and also fuelling talk the market could fall as much as 10 percent.
Vodacom topped the list of a few gainers on the benchmark index ahead of its third-quarter results on Wednesday, rising 3.5% to R119.95.
Platinum mining stocks declined further as a strike that costing the country $36m a day enters its second week.
Trade was robust with more than 250 million shares changing hands. Decliners outnumbers advancers 227 to 95 while 47 stocks were unchanged.