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Johannesburg - South African stocks ended lower on Wednesday with Ellies Holdings [JSE:ELI] topping the list of decliners on growing worries about its financial health.
The maker of satellite dishes and TV antennas extended sharp losses into a third day after it said it planned to launch a rights offer as it struggles to keep up with loan repayments.
Ellies, which has not disclosed the size of the cash call, plunged 18.8% to R1.25, bringing losses since Monday to more than 32%.
Overall, traders took their cue from weaker overseas markets after the International Monetary Fund gave a downbeat forecast for the global economy.
"We were sitting in an overbought territory for about three months since July and poor prospects for the global economy have given the market a reason to pull back a little bit," said Rigardt Maartens, a portfolio manager at PSG Securities.
The JSE Top-40 index, which has retreated about 9% since July, lost 1.5% to 42 846 and the broader All-Share index gave up 1.4% to 48 033.
In earnings news, Altron slid 6.6% to R21.25 after the IT firm reported a 12% decline in first-half profit and gave a bleak outlook for the next six months of its financial year.
On the upside, Lonmin [JSE:LON] gained almost 1.8% to R31.55.
