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Johannesburg - South African stocks rose for a third straight session on Tuesday, bringing record peaks back in sight, as expectations that major central banks will keep monetary policy loose pushed emerging stocks to their highest since February 2013.
Among gainers, global mining group Anglo American [JSE:AGL] added 1.7% to R278.65 as investors bet that a gradual global economic recovery helped by monetary stimulus will improve demand for metals.
Shares of upscale retailer Woolworths [JSE:WHL] extended gains from the previous session when it was lifted by news that shareholders of David Jones, an Australian chain it is hoping to acquire for $2bn, had backed the deal.
Woolworths shares added 2% to R83.61 after earlier hitting a lifetime high, but it could be due for a pullback as its 14-day RSI, a momentum indicator tracked by chartists, suggests it has now swung deeply into overbought territory.
Overall, the rally stemmed from global hopes that central banks will keep the easy money flowing, with the MSCI emerging equities index rising 0.26% at one point on Tuesday to its highest level in 17 months.
European Central Bank president Mario Draghi said late on Monday that a stronger euro exchange rate was a risk to the sustainability of the euro zone recovery - comments that investors took as a signal that rates will stay low in Europe.
The SA Reserve Bank (Sarb) will decide on interest rates on Thursday at the conclusion of its Monetary Policy Committee meeting (MPC), held every two months.
A Reuters poll showed most of the 31 economists surveyed expect the Monetary Policy Committee to hold rates at 5.5%, but seven of them expect a hike of 25 basis points and another six see a 50 point increase.
"Whether they increase the interest rate or not, growth is going to be very poor here this year and this was not reflected in the record highs we saw about two weeks on the stock market," said Christie Viljoen of NKC Independent Economists.
"We shouldn't really expect the market to react to local interest rates. I think international interest rates will be more important, because developments around the US Fed influence expectations about cheap money, which in turn impacts on risk appetite," he said.
The Top 40 index ended the day 0.42% higher at 46 627 while the All-share added 0.38% to 51 735. Advancers outnumbered decliners 163 to 128.
Among gainers, global mining group Anglo American [JSE:AGL] added 1.7% to R278.65 as investors bet that a gradual global economic recovery helped by monetary stimulus will improve demand for metals.
Shares of upscale retailer Woolworths [JSE:WHL] extended gains from the previous session when it was lifted by news that shareholders of David Jones, an Australian chain it is hoping to acquire for $2bn, had backed the deal.
Woolworths shares added 2% to R83.61 after earlier hitting a lifetime high, but it could be due for a pullback as its 14-day RSI, a momentum indicator tracked by chartists, suggests it has now swung deeply into overbought territory.
Overall, the rally stemmed from global hopes that central banks will keep the easy money flowing, with the MSCI emerging equities index rising 0.26% at one point on Tuesday to its highest level in 17 months.
European Central Bank president Mario Draghi said late on Monday that a stronger euro exchange rate was a risk to the sustainability of the euro zone recovery - comments that investors took as a signal that rates will stay low in Europe.
The SA Reserve Bank (Sarb) will decide on interest rates on Thursday at the conclusion of its Monetary Policy Committee meeting (MPC), held every two months.
A Reuters poll showed most of the 31 economists surveyed expect the Monetary Policy Committee to hold rates at 5.5%, but seven of them expect a hike of 25 basis points and another six see a 50 point increase.
"Whether they increase the interest rate or not, growth is going to be very poor here this year and this was not reflected in the record highs we saw about two weeks on the stock market," said Christie Viljoen of NKC Independent Economists.
"We shouldn't really expect the market to react to local interest rates. I think international interest rates will be more important, because developments around the US Fed influence expectations about cheap money, which in turn impacts on risk appetite," he said.
The Top 40 index ended the day 0.42% higher at 46 627 while the All-share added 0.38% to 51 735. Advancers outnumbered decliners 163 to 128.
