JOHANNESBURG: South African stocks inched lower on Tuesday, as gold miners such as Gold Fields were hammered by a drop in the price of bullion, although losses were limited by a rise in heavyweights Naspers and MTN Group. Investors have been dumping emerging market assets, which are seen as higher risk, due to concerns about the outlook for global growth and debt-ridden Greece's impact on Europe. Global markets have been plagued by worries that Greece could exit the euro zone and long-term problems in that region will put the brakes on the global economy. "The risk-off trade is still heavily in play, unfortunately. The commodities, although they tried to stage a bit of a rebound today, are not really getting any traction. We're seeing the usual flight to safe havens like the dollar," said Devin Shutte, an equity and derivatives trader at brokerage Newstrading. "Any excuse to sell this market seems to be taken ...

JOHANNESBURG: South African stocks lost ground for a fourth straight session on Tuesday, falling more than 1 percent, with platinum miners such as Anglo American Platinum the hardest hit as the euro zone's debt crisis continued to cloud markets. Massmart shed 2 percent to 164.20 rand as investors fret that the South African discount retailer may miss full-year sales forecasts after saying 44 weeks sales totalled 51.7 billion rand ($6.53 billion) by the end of April. "The success of the global economy impacts resources; if the economy goes down, the resources go down too," said Richard Juchniewicz, a trader at SBG Securities. Financial markets are worried the election results in Greece and France, where new governments have stated their opposition to austerity measures, could lead to a new phase of the euro zone crisis. The European Union is South Africa's largest trading partner. South Africa's blue-chip Top-40 index fell 1.33 percent to 29,499.49. The broader ...

DUBAI/CAIRO: Saudi shares retreated on Monday after a call by the king for a crackdown against market manipulation spooked investors, and Egypt's bourse fell to eight-week lows over top-level differences about the terms of an IMF loan. King Abdullah has ordered the crackdown, insisting action should be taken if necessary against improper trading, the daily Alsharq newspaper reported on Monday. This spooked retail investors, who either tried to reduce their market exposure or stayed away altogether. Turnover fell to 11.7 billion riyals ($3.1 billion), the lowest since March 3. The index dipped 0.3 percent in its fourth straight decline to trim 2012 gains to 19.9 percent. "When the CMA (Capital Market Authority) charges someone with unethical trading they freeze their buying, but not the selling," said a Riyadh-based trader who asked not to be identified. "This started a domino wave of selling." Some traders said the move may help curb market volatility. "Fundamentals took a back ...