South African markets closed in the green yesterday, buoyed by gains in consumer staples and retail sector stocks. Food companies, RCL Foods and Famous Brands jumped 6.7% and 2.8%, respectively. Retailers, Shoprite Holdings, Lewis Group and Mr Price Group advanced 4.5%, 2.8% and 1.3%, respectively.
Diversified miners, Anglo American, Kumba Iron Ore and Pan African Resources gained 3.4%, 3.3% and 2.6%, respectively. Gold miners, Gold Fields and Harmony Gold Mining rose 1.8% and 1.5%, respectively.
Pharmaceutical companies, Aspen Pharmacare, Life Healthcare and Adcock Ingram Holdings added 1.2%, 1.0% and 0.9%, respectively. On the flipside, insurance companies, Discovery and Old Mutual dropped 3.1% and 1.2%, respectively.