The JSE rallied to a one-week high on Friday, powered mainly by resources and industrial stocks.
The all-share was up 0.87% to 51,866.50 points at lunchtime, with the top 40 gaining 1%.
Diversified miners continued their fine form despite a strong dollar that exerted pressure on underlying commodity prices, with Anglo American hitting its best level since June 2015.
Big industrial stocks were equally buoyant, lifted by outsized gains in British American Tobacco after it offered to buy the remaining shares (57.8%) of Reynolds American for $47bn.
"The technical picture for the all-share looks good for now, although BAT was also instrumental in today's push higher on a possible corporate action," said BP Bernstein Stockbrokers trader Vasilis Girasis.
The rand slipped through the R14 to the dollar handle, supporting the rand-hedge stocks, although MTN still struggled to find a floor amid concern about its Nigerian operations.
Financial stocks and retailers looked patchy, but were poised to finish the week on a positive note.
Further afield, the trading picture was mixed as the main European markets traded slightly higher while US stock futures suggested a negative opening on Wall Street.
"Once again it seems any rally off the lows in US indices doesn’t have the legs to go beyond the previous highs which is worrying as we get ever closer to the second rate hike in a decade and the first this year," Oanda senior market analyst Craig Erlam said.
Anglo American rose 3.44% to R185.14, BHP Billiton picked 1.63% to R210.16 and Kumba Iron Ore 2.31% to R128.08.
BAT, the second-most valuable share on the JSE with a market cap of R1.7-trillion, rallied 3.91% to R849.97.
Massmart was up 2.46% to R113.53 while furniture retailer Lewis Group lost 4.03% to R39.97 following its trading update indicating interim headline earnings a share are expected to fall as much as 45%. Naspers gained 2.04% to R2,407.05.
The all-share was up 0.87% to 51,866.50 points at lunchtime, with the top 40 gaining 1%.
Diversified miners continued their fine form despite a strong dollar that exerted pressure on underlying commodity prices, with Anglo American hitting its best level since June 2015.
Big industrial stocks were equally buoyant, lifted by outsized gains in British American Tobacco after it offered to buy the remaining shares (57.8%) of Reynolds American for $47bn.
"The technical picture for the all-share looks good for now, although BAT was also instrumental in today's push higher on a possible corporate action," said BP Bernstein Stockbrokers trader Vasilis Girasis.
The rand slipped through the R14 to the dollar handle, supporting the rand-hedge stocks, although MTN still struggled to find a floor amid concern about its Nigerian operations.
Financial stocks and retailers looked patchy, but were poised to finish the week on a positive note.
Further afield, the trading picture was mixed as the main European markets traded slightly higher while US stock futures suggested a negative opening on Wall Street.
"Once again it seems any rally off the lows in US indices doesn’t have the legs to go beyond the previous highs which is worrying as we get ever closer to the second rate hike in a decade and the first this year," Oanda senior market analyst Craig Erlam said.
Anglo American rose 3.44% to R185.14, BHP Billiton picked 1.63% to R210.16 and Kumba Iron Ore 2.31% to R128.08.
BAT, the second-most valuable share on the JSE with a market cap of R1.7-trillion, rallied 3.91% to R849.97.
Massmart was up 2.46% to R113.53 while furniture retailer Lewis Group lost 4.03% to R39.97 following its trading update indicating interim headline earnings a share are expected to fall as much as 45%. Naspers gained 2.04% to R2,407.05.
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