South Africa stocks rebound as global tensions abate

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South African stocks gained smartly on Tuesday after stumbling in the previous session as risk appetite returned to global markets, spurred by cooperation from Ukraine's pro-Russian separatists over the downed Malaysian Airlines plane. Resource shares led the local rebound, with Anglo American rising 2.85 percent to 287.21 rand. Anglo shares have been buoyed by the Monday announcement that its Anglo American Platinum unit planned to sell its underperforming Rustenburg and Union mines after it was hit by a five-month wage strike. "We view the decision to sell Rustenburg as a positive for Anglo American as this is a significant step in transforming the platinum division into a sustainably cash positive portfolio," Barclays said in a note to clients. Amplats shares, which rose steeply on Monday, were broadly flat. Mid-tier platinum producer Royal Bafokeng Platinum added over 3 percent after saying it expected interim headline earnings to rise over 20 percent because of "sustained production" and higher prices for the metals it sells, which include palladium, gold, rhodium, iridium and copper. Electronics products manufacturer Ellies Holdings fell almost 7 percent after the group said full-year earnings had dropped almost 70 percent in the face of weak consumer demand in South Africa's barely growing economy. The benchmark Top-40 index rose 1.1 percent to 46,789 while the broader All-share added 1 percent to 51,931. Both indices are within easy range of life highs scaled earlier this month.