South African Stocks Rally as Ramaphosa Seen as Watershed
- Benchmark stocks index posts biggest gain since March
- Removal of political uncertainty is potential catalyst: MS
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South Africa’s benchmark stocks index had their biggest rally since March following the ascent of the business and investor-friendly Cyril Ramaphosa to leader of the ruling African National Congress, removing an overhang that had weighed on market sentiment.
The FTSE/JSE Africa All Share Index rose as much as 1.6 percent and was 1.5 percent higher as of 10:45 a.m. in Johannesburg. Household goods shares, banks, insurers, retailers and other domestically focused companies led gains on the gauge. The FTSE/JSE Africa Banks Index jumped 7.2 percent to a record, the FTSE/JSE Life Insurance Index climbed to the highest level since August 2015 and the FTSE/JSE Africa General Retailers Index advanced the most in two years.