S.African stocks slide on miners, but rand rallies

(Reuters) - South African blue-chip stocks fell more than 2 percent on Thursday, as weaker commodity prices battered miners, but bonds rallied and the rand hit a new 6-month high against the dollar.

The JSE Top-40 index fell 2.09 percent to 18,920.50 points while the broader All-share index dropped 1.8 percent to 20,936.87 points, for a second day of losses.

"We are just having a bit of profit-taking coming in. It's a bit strange, because we are underperforming the rest of the world markets today," a Johannesburg-based trader said.

"It's a bit unusual. I think the strong rand also is weighing on currency-sensitive stocks a little bit."

Europe's FTSEurofirst 300 index rose above the 800-points mark for the first time in two months after better-than-expected quarterly results from JPMorgan Chase & Co.

But on the Johannesburg bourse, gold miners led the fall as the price of bullion slipped. Harmony Gold tumbled 7.39 percent to 79 rand and Gold Fields lost 3.45 percent to 95.10 rand.

The JSE platinum index dropped 4.5 percent, led by the world's third-biggest platinum producer Lonmin shedding 6.81 percent to 176 rand. Anglo Platinum, the world's biggest producer, lost 5.70 percent to 480 rand.

The rand surged, though, boosting government bonds, with the currency triggering stop losses at around 9 to the dollar.

The local currency was trading at 8.9350 to the greenback at 1555 GMT, 1.3 percent stronger than its previous close in New York, after earlier touching 8.8750, its firmest level since October 14.

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