South Africa’s main equities index declined, led by Naspers [JSE:NPN] and its Prosus unit after Hong Kong-listed Tencent Holdings slumped amid a widening Chinese antitrust probe of the technology sector. With a stake of about 31%, Prosus is Tencent’s largest shareholder.
The benchmark FTSE/JSE Africa All Share Index fell 0.8% to 58 721 at 10:25 a.m. in Johannesburg, with cyclical sectors including oil, automotive and travel and leisure down the most. Without the decline in Naspers, which accounts for 17% of the index, the benchmark would be up.
The country’s gauge remains up 2.8% for the year and Naspers remains up 24%. The rand was down 0.4%.
The session’s worst performers were power generator Montauk Holdings [JSE:MNK], down 8.2%, and miner Royal Bafokeng Platinum [JSE:RBP], down 6.5%. Infrastructure builder Raubex Group [JSE:RBX] gained 3.5%.
