Stocks ended higher yesterday, led by food retailers and mining shares on the first day of trading after a four-day weekend for Easter.
The blue chip Top40 index was up 1.12 percent to 26 406.20 points and the broader all share index was 1.2 percent higher at 29 367.74 points.
Mining companies featured on the gainers' list as industrial metal prices cruised higher, boosting Anglo American by 1.18 percent to R331.29 and rival BHP Billiton by 1.12 percent to close at R258.51.
AngloGold Ashanti added 4.02 percent to R295, its biggest gain in more than four months. Gold rose to a one-month high, increasing as much as 0.6 percent to $1 138.43 (R8 238.15) an ounce.
Copper futures on the London Metal Exchange advanced to more than $8 000 a ton for the first time since the collapse of Lehman Brothers in 2008 on signs that the global recovery is boosting demand.
"There's very little news, other than commodity prices. But it's difficult to relate it to any specific event. Copper, iron-ore, gold, platinum's up so I think that's the main driving force," said David Shapiro, a trader at Sasfin Holdings.
Food retailers also gained after an interest rate cut boosted sentiment. Shoprite surged 3.97 percent to end the day at R77.25 and Pick n Pay added 2.16 percent to R44.90.
Woolworths rose 3.98 percent to close at R23.50, its biggest gain in more than a month.
Elsewhere, ArcelorMittal South Africa dropped 3.1 percent to R90.50, as the supply dispute with Kumba Iron Ore dragged on.
Vodacom lost 0.53 percent to R56.23, ahead of a meeting with its Congolese partner to try to solve a row between the two affecting their Democratic Republic of Congo venture.
Insimbi Refractory & Alloy Supplies dropped 4.65 percent to 41c, the lowest since it started trading in March 2008. The company expects full-year earnings to slump 80 percent.
Makalani Holdings rallied 7.51 percent to close at R86, its biggest gain in almost four months. The company set up to fund sales of local businesses to black investors increased its offer to buy out shareholders and turn the company private.
Sasol gained 2.2 percent to R311. It expects its Natref refinery to be "fully operational" by the second week of April following furnace damage.