S. African stocks close weaker despite gains in gold miners

Approaching Santa Claus failed to stimulate the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) stocks that continued to tumble on Thursday following the downward trend in global markets.

The all-share index retreated by 0.66 percent to 49,833.77 points on gains in gold and losses in financial and retail shares.

The U.S. dollar continued to retrace its recent high, setting the rand at R14.06 to the U.S. dollar, R17.3 to the British pound and R14.71 to the euro.

Spot gold eased 0.15 percent to 1,133.11 U.S. dollars an ounce while platinum slipped to 916.28 dollars an ounce. LME copper prices rose to 5,515.50 dollars per tonne from 5,503 dollars per tonne.

In South Africa, news that steel maker ArcelorMittal SA would provide material to restart part of the troubled Evraz Highveld Steel's mothballed plant drove the shares down 3.57 percent to R11.08.

There were marginal gains in Sasol, which added 0.34 percent to R398, and Richemont up 1.18 percent to R91.73.

RMB Holdings dropped 1.7 percent to R64.17, Nedbank Group fell 1.46 percent to R231.2 and Standard bank lost by 1.45 percent to R149.49. Endit