JOHANNESBURG: South African stocks slid on Tuesday, dragged down by resources companies, while the rand firmed slightly amid lingering political uncertainty.
Iron ore producers were among the biggest losers after iron ore futures in China fell more than 6 percent on Tuesday to their weakest level since January, pressured by a sustained drop in steel prices on concerns about oversupply.
African Rainbow Minerals tumbled by 10.7 percent to 85 rand, Assore Limited dropped 9.4 percent to 221 rand and Kumba Iron Ore was down 8.9 percent at 170.04 rand.
Nedbank, the largest investor in Nigeria’s Ecobank, fell 3.5 percent to 224.56 rand after it flagged the pan-African lender’s fourth-quarter losses. Ecobank reported a loss for 2016 blaming a recession in Nigeria and a strong U.S. dollar.
Aspen Pharmacare, Africa’s largest generic drugmaker, dropped 4.1 percent after a report in Britain’s Times newspaper accused the company of withholding drugs to try to drive up prices in European markets.
The benchmark Top-40 index ended 1.65 percent down at 45,873 points, while the broader All-share index lost 1.57 percent to 52,672 points.
On the currency market, the rand firmed slightly in volatile trade as political uncertainty lingers. Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Monday that leaders should listen to protesters who have taken to the streets demanding that President Jacob Zuma leaves office.
