Money pours out as South Africa

Johannesburg – More than R1.6 trillion was wiped from the market value of South Africa’s benchmark share index in September as falling precious-metals prices and global economic pressures triggered a sharp sell-off.

The FTSE/JSE Africa All-Share Index fell 6.7% during September, while shares in precious-metals mining companies dropped by more than 17%, according to Bloomberg data reported by BusinessTech.

The decline reduced the index’s market capitalisation by more than R1.61 trillion.

The sell-off has left the index at its most technically oversold level in 17 months, with its 14-day relative strength index falling below 30. Moneyweb reported that the decline followed falls of more than 17% in precious-metals miners as gold and platinum prices weakened.

Robert Naess, a portfolio manager at Nordea Investment Management, said the selling appeared to be driven more by investor sentiment and fund flows than by company earnings.

Sustained recovery 

“The selling looks driven by sentiment and flows rather than fundamentals,” Naess said, according to BusinessTech.

He added that a sustained recovery would depend on movements in the US dollar, gold prices and China’s economic performance. China is a major importer of South African commodities.

The market decline comes amid wider pressure on South Africa’s external accounts. The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) said in its September Quarterly Bulletin that the country’s financial account switched from a R23.1 billion net outflow in the first quarter to a R1.9 billion inflow in the second quarter. However, portfolio investment and financial derivatives still recorded net outflows.

The SARB also reported that South Africa’s current account moved from a 2.3% of GDP surplus in the first quarter to a 2.6% deficit in the second quarter, as the trade surplus narrowed and the income deficit widened.

At the same time, not all investment flows have weakened. Reuters reported that foreign direct investment into South Africa increased to R49.8 billion in the second quarter of 2026, up from R20.3 billion in the first quarter.

The latest stock-market decline therefore reflects a combination of weaker commodity prices, global risk sentiment and movements in investment flows rather than a single measure of money leaving the country.