South African shares ended in the red on Thursday dragged lower by mining companies and telecommunications operator MTN, which surprised investors with news it was struggling to sign on new subscribers in Nigeria. MTN was the biggest decliner on the blue-chip index having slipped more than 4 percent after slashing its full-year forecast for Nigerian subscriber growth by nearly a third.
The Top-40 index slipped 0.26 percent to 42,921 and the All-share lost 0.2 percent to 48,104. Overall trade was relatively stable with 160 million shares changing hands, according to preliminary bourse figures.