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Johannesburg - Stocks fell for the first day in five trading sessions on Thursday as retailers such as Truworths were battered by concerns about slowing sales growth.
Further evidence of muted consumer demand in Africa's largest economy made it easy for investors to cash in after a string of recent record highs.
The benchmark Top-40 index is now trading at nearly 20 times earnings, making Johannesburg the most expensive emerging market among 30 indices tracked by Thomson Reuters.
"High quality companies have proven popular in uncertain times," said Mark Phillips, an analyst at Sanlam Multi Manager International in Cape Town. "Many quality companies are now expensive relative to their own history and the overall market."
The Top-40 index edged down 0.29% to 41 246.57 after earlier hitting a record of 41 473.92.
The broad All-Share index gave up 0.27% to 46 068.47.
Shares of clothing retailer Truworths tumbled 8.1% to R86.39 after the firm said sales for the first 18 weeks of its current financial year increased by 7%, less than half the growth it saw in the same period a year ago.
Fellow retailer Foschini Group fell 3.5% to R108.11. The company reported a 3.8% increase in first-half earnings, hit by weak domestic consumer demand.
Foschini said it planned to more than double its presence in sub-Saharan markets outside South Africa in the next five years.
Shares of drug maker Adcock Ingram rose 0.4% to R68.69. Adcock's board said it would talk to the state-owned pension fund to keep alive a $1.3bn bid from Chile CFR Pharmaceuticals, which the fund rejected.
Trade was active, with 169 million shares changing hands.
Decliners outnumbered advancers 148 to 128, while 77 shares were unchanged.
Further evidence of muted consumer demand in Africa's largest economy made it easy for investors to cash in after a string of recent record highs.
The benchmark Top-40 index is now trading at nearly 20 times earnings, making Johannesburg the most expensive emerging market among 30 indices tracked by Thomson Reuters.
"High quality companies have proven popular in uncertain times," said Mark Phillips, an analyst at Sanlam Multi Manager International in Cape Town. "Many quality companies are now expensive relative to their own history and the overall market."
The Top-40 index edged down 0.29% to 41 246.57 after earlier hitting a record of 41 473.92.
The broad All-Share index gave up 0.27% to 46 068.47.
Shares of clothing retailer Truworths tumbled 8.1% to R86.39 after the firm said sales for the first 18 weeks of its current financial year increased by 7%, less than half the growth it saw in the same period a year ago.
Fellow retailer Foschini Group fell 3.5% to R108.11. The company reported a 3.8% increase in first-half earnings, hit by weak domestic consumer demand.
Foschini said it planned to more than double its presence in sub-Saharan markets outside South Africa in the next five years.
Shares of drug maker Adcock Ingram rose 0.4% to R68.69. Adcock's board said it would talk to the state-owned pension fund to keep alive a $1.3bn bid from Chile CFR Pharmaceuticals, which the fund rejected.
Trade was active, with 169 million shares changing hands.
Decliners outnumbered advancers 148 to 128, while 77 shares were unchanged.
