S. African stocks close higher across the board Wednesday

Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) rallied on Wednesday, lifted by gains seen in leading sectors as commodity prices such as gold rose slightly.

Gold mining shares soared 3.17 percent, leading gains across sectors.

The rand strengthened against the major currencies, and was trading at R13.86 to the U.S. dollar, R17.00 to the British pound and R15.20 to the euro at 5:00 p.m. (CAT).

Banks were little changed despite the rand returning to levels (R13.90/1 U.S. dollar) last seen before the National Prosecuting Authority levelled fraud charges at Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan.

The all share index rose 0.74 percent to 51,504.87 points at close of session, while top 40 index closed 0.89 percent higher. The gold price rallied for the third day on a softer U.S. dollar. The gold price hovered at about 1,2690.79 U.S. dollars an ounce, but remained below its recent peak of 1,363.78 U.S. dollars.

Bargain hunting was evident in industrials with MTN Group and Naspers rising more than 2 percent. MTN has been under pressure after allegations in recent weeks that it illegally repatriated nearly 14 billion U.S. dollars from Nigeria over past 10 years. The company denies the claim.

Anglo American gained 1.18 percent to 178.19 and AngloGold Ashanti climbed 3.91 percent to R197.30.

Luxury goods maker Richemont was up 1.64 percent to R93 while industrial group Barloworld gained 2.55 percent to R89.24. Endite