South Africa’s JSE is shooting the lights out

Rand strength and soaring metal prices have bolstered the capitalisation of South Africa’s benchmark equity index to the highest since 2019.

The value of shares listed on the FTSE/JSE Africa All Share Index climbed above $500 billion (R8.2 trillion) on Tuesday, overtaking markets in countries including Norway, Malaysia and Turkey from the same period a year ago. 

The Johannesburg bourse rallied 38% last year for its best performance since 2005, with an index of precious metals and mining stocks leading gains. The rand strengthened 14% against the greenback, boosting the stock index’s advance in dollar terms to 57%.

The rally is showing no sign of slowing down. The gauge has already gained more than 2% this year as the rand also extended its advance along with the gold price.

The South African currency climbed to 16.31 per dollar on Tuesday, the strongest level in more than three years.

The next key target for the rand is between 16.10 and 15.90 per dollar, according to Societe Generale SA strategists, including Kenneth Broux. That would keep dollar returns on South African stocks buoyant.

The shares could see further support from commodities, with gold set to sustain its rally as the purchasing power of currencies continues to weaken, according to Evy Hambro, head of thematic investing at BlackRock International. 

Shares in mining companies have yet to fully catch up with the metals rally, Hambro said on Bloomberg TV.

The rally also pushed South Africa’s weighting in the MSCI Emerging Market Index above that of Saudi Arabia in November.

“Considering the massive outperformance, the increased weight could force mechanical buying from passive funds, which could increase the bid for South African equities, particularly large caps,” said Lester Davids, an analyst at Unum Capital.