Johannesburg - South African shares rose for a third straight session on Friday, led by Telkom which reported an increase in first quarter revenue, offseting a plunge by resource companies.
Shares in the fixed-line operator rose 7.86 percent to 61.48 rand, its biggest one-day climb in more than six years, after reporting a 1.7 percent rise in revenue to about 6.5 billion rand ($515 million).
RCL Foods, formerly Rainbow Chicken, rose 1.98 percent to 17 rand, after announcing plans to buy a 33.5 percent stake in Ugandan poultry producer Hudani Manji Holdings Ltd.
But the indices' gains were capped by weakening resource stocks, including AngloGold Ashanti, Africa's biggest bullion producer, which shed 3.59 percent to 76.16 rand.
Lonmin fell 4.06 percent to 10.17 rand as the price of platinum hovered near 6-1/2 year lows.
Johannesburg's gold index dipped 1.42 percent to 796.93 points, after falling more than 3 percent to 14-year lows, tracking a softer gold price which later recovered.
“We are gradually losing ground because of the resource stocks, they have been weighing down the whole market,” said Makwe Masilela, a trader at BP Bernstein.
The JSE Top-40 index climbed 0.55 percent at 46,557 and the broader All-share index added 0.54 percent higher to 52,053 points.
The All-Share index was down as much as 4.5 percent this month but ended the month flat, according to Reuters data.
Trading volumes were high with more than 226 million shares changing hands, above last year's daily average of 183 million.
($1 = 12.6259 rand)
Reuters