(Bloomberg) -- South Africa’s main stock benchmark traded broadly neutral as of 10:08 a.m. in Johannesburg, as advances by index giants Naspers Ltd, BHP Group Plc, Richemont, which make up 40% of market capitalization, offset weakness among precious metal miners and banks.

103 of the 142 listed companies traded lower in the morning. Before today, the index fell for five consecutive sessions, the longest losing streak since May 2019.

South Africa’s negative performance since last week falls in line with markets in Asia and Europe, as investors weigh the dimming outlook for further U.S. fiscal stimulus, rising Covid-19 cases in a number of nations and expected market volatility around the presidential election. U.S.-China tensions are also simmering, with doubts emerging over whether Oracle Corp.’s deal with TikTok will win U.S. and Chinese government assent.

  • Gold and platinum companies drag gauge for miners down 0.6%
    • Gold Fields Ltd. -2.8%, Impala Platinum Holdings Ltd. -4.4%, Sibanye Stillwater ltd. -2%, AngloGold Ashanti Ltd. -0.9%, Exxaro Resources Ltd. -5.1%, Anglo American Plc -0.2%
  • The rand falls for a third day, dragging the index for bank stocks down 1%. Banking stocks have been sliding for four straight sessions, the longest losing streak since June. 24
    • FirstRand Ltd. -0.7%, Capitec Bank Group Ltd. -0.8%, Standard Bank Group Ltd. -0.6%, Absa Group Ltd. -1.3%, Nedbank Group Ltd. -1.1%, Investec Plc -1.4%
  • General retailers drop 1.1% while food and drug sellers retreat 0.3%
    • Woolworths Holdings Ltd. -1.3%, Mr Price Group Ltd. -1.6%, Truworths International Ltd. -3.4%, Foschini Group Ltd. -1.5%, Advtech Ltd. -1.7%
    • Bid Corp Ltd. -1.1%, Pick n Pay Stores Ltd. -1.3%, Clicks Group Ltd. -0.4%, Spar Group Ltd. -0.6%, Shoprite Holdings Ltd. -0.2%, Dis-Chem Pharmacies Ltd. -1.1%
  • Insurers -1.4%
    • Old Mutual Ltd. -2.4%, Sanlam Ltd. -1.1%, Discovery Ltd. -2%, Momentum Metropolitan Holdings -1%, Liberty Holdings Ltd. -2.1%
  • Sasol Ltd. rises 1.4% after company says the sale of its base chemicals unit wasn’t affected by recent hurricane
  • Foreigners were net sellers of South African stocks for a third day Monday, disposing of 962 million rand worth of shares, according to index operator, JSE Ltd.

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