Johannesburg bourse up 4 pct in steepest rise in 3 years

JOHANNESBURG, Feb. 15 (Xinhua)-- The Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) leapt almost 4 percent on Thursday, the biggest intra-day rally in more than three years after Cyril Ramaphosa took over as head of state of South Africa.

Equity investors reacted with euphoria to Jacob Zuma's resignation as South African president.

Cyril Ramaphosa, who was elected as Zuma's successor on Thursday afternoon, is expected to pursue market-friendly policies.

Zuma resigned late on Wednesday, ending days of political drama, which caused both confusion and uncertainty.

The all share index edged up 3.72 percent to 59,533.1 points at close, signaling clear market approval of Zuma's departure, although part of the rally came as a result of international factors. A weaker U.S. dollar translated into a big rally in commodity prices, which fed into resource shares.

BHP added 4.13 percent to R264.19, Anglo American 2.2 percent to R283.23 and Sasol 2.62 percent to R398.62. Kumba Iron Ore was up 4.76 percent to R363.43 and Exxaro Resources 4.46 percent to R147.03.

Bidvest, one of the better proxies of the local economy, surged 9.12 percent to R250.9, Imperial 9.71 percent to R282.5 and Barloworld 10 56 percent to R185.88.

Naspers, the biggest share on the JSE in terms of market weighting, rose a 6.98 percent to R3,391.4.

FirstRand leapt 6.43 percent to 75.35, Standard Bank 5.13 percent to R218.6, Barclays Africa 7.78 percent to R 205.75 and Old Mutual added 3.45 percent to R40.76, Sanlam 7.26 percent to R75.35 and Discovery 7.26 percent to R180.1.

Woolworths rose 5.18 percent to R67 and Mr Price 3.46 percent to R291.03.

Even the embattled Steinhoff climbed 4.92 percent, to R5.54. Enditem