Johannesburg - Grindrod, Africa’s biggest shipping company, advanced to the highest in almost five years, as shipping costs rose and the rand weakened.
The shares gained as much as 3.1 percent to 23.01 rand, their highest intraday level since September 8, 2008.
Grindod traded 2.6 percent higher at 3:20 p.m. in Johannesburg.
The volume of shares exchanged was 815,409 units or 106 percent of the three- month daily average.
The Baltic Dry Index, a measure of commodity-shipping costs, headed for a fourth day of gains, extending this week’s advance to 3.6 percent, data compiled by Bloomberg show.
The rand, the currency of Africa’s biggest economy, weakened for a second day.
“The Baltic Dry Index has gone up,” Rob Forsyth, an equity analyst at Cape Town-based Investec Asset Management, said in a phone interview.
“The rand has weakened against the dollar, boosting prospects for higher earnings and offsetting slower domestic economic growth.”
Grindrod stocks are the seventh-best performer this year on the 166-member FTSE/JSE Africa All-Share Index, with a 45 percent gain.
The gauge has risen 4 percent. - Bloomberg News