South African stocks ended slightly higher on Thursday, breaking three straight days of losses as investors chased after bargains but a softer gold price hit mining shares. Truworths featured among the top gainers after the apparel retailer unveiled a deal to expand further in the upscale children's clothing market. Its shares jumped 3.2 percent to 75.52 rand, their biggest daily percentage gain in more than three months.
Overall, investors picked up stocks deemed to have strayed into oversold territory following recent sharp losses, said Ferdi Heyneke, a portfolio manager at Afrifocus Securities. The JSE Top-40 index gained 0.35 percent to 44,910 and the broader All-share index added 0.4 percent to 50,557. Fixed line phone operator Telkom climbed 4.05 percent to 68.40, recouping all the losses suffered in the past five sessions. SABMiller was up 0.3 percent to 610.78 rand after the brewer said it would team up with Coca-Cola to bottle and distribute fizzy drinks in Africa. Tracking a softer gold price, AngloGold Ashanti and Gold Fields were down between 1 and 2 percent. Trade was slightly below average, with 167 million shares changing hands, compared with last year's daily average of 176 million shares.
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