Publications
Partners
Johannesburg - South African stocks rose for a fourth day on Friday as generic drug maker Aspen Pharmacare hit an all-time high after announcing a $263m deal with Britain's GlaxoSmithKline.
More widely, local stocks tracked foreign markets higher though choppy trade was seen in the week ahead with juries still out on Europe's seemingly never-ending debt problems.
Aspen said it would pay $263m for a clutch of international over-the-counter brands from GlaxoSmithKline. The brands being sold generated sales of around $96.37m in 2011.
Shares in the company shot up to an all-time high of R124.01, according to Reuters data, before closing 5.93% higher at R122.89.
"Aspen seems to be beefing up its category presence in analgesic (painkillers), which is a top selling category, hence it's important to have strong portfolio of products in this area," said Nino Frodema, a fund manager at Momentum Asset Management.
The benchmark blue-chip Top 40 - (Tradeable) [JSE:J200] index ended up 0.25% to 30 185.77, while the broader All Share [JSE:J203] index closed 0.32% higher at 34 216.55.
Other gainers included South African bank FirstRand , up 3.35 percent to 24.70 rand and RMB Holdings , up 3.07 percent to 32.90 rand.
Shares on Wall Street rose as investors' focus returned to stellar first-quarter earnings from U.S. firms, while the euro and commodities also gained on reduced worries over Spain's debt burden, pushing South African stocks higher.
But concerns remain about Europe's economic and debt woes.
"Going forward the market will remain concerned about what's happening there and therefore I don't think we are going to get a market that's running away, very much up and down, choppy trade," said Abri du Plessis, chief investment officer at Gryphon Asset Management in Cape Town.
Losers of the day were led by Africa's biggest gold miner AngloGold Ashanti, down 2.15 percent to 257.01 rand, as investors dared to turn away from safe haven gold to riskier assets, analysts said.
Smaller rivals Harmony Gold and Gold Fields ended down 1.05 percent and 0.91 percent, respectively.
Trade was thin with just 180 million shares changing hands, according to preliminary bourse data, down from the daily average of 256 million sold last year. Advancers outnumbered decliners at 175 to 99 . A total of 79 stocks were unchanged.
