Johannesburg - South African stocks gained on Monday led by mining companies such as Assore and Kumba Iron Ore after data showed China imported more iron ore than expected in September.
The benchmark Top-40 index added 0.64% to 42 181 while the All-share index climbed 0.59% to 47 368.
Data on Monday showed that China's overall exports rose more than forecast and iron ore imports unexpectedly gained, a welcome boost to producers that have suffered as prices hovered near a five-year low on concerns of global oversupply.
China is the largest importer of the steelmaking commodity.
Iron ore producer Assore topped the gainers in the bluechip index, rising 4.8% to R236.83.
Kumba Iron Ore added 3.08% to R275.06, but the company's price still hovered near a five-year low.
Despite market gains, traders warned that there were still global concerns about future US interest rate hikes.
"Markets are a bit shaky internationally as guys expecting U.S. Federal interest rate to be higher before than normal," said Bruno van Eck, a trader at Thebe Stockbroking.
Among decliners, Telkom lost 6.4% to R55.78 after the fixed-line operator said on Friday it expected weaker first-half earnings.
Trading volumes were slightly above average, with 187 million shares changing hands, compared with last year's daily average of 176 million shares. Advancers outnumbered decliners, 156 to 130.