ADRs in Focus: South Africa index jumps
NEW YORK --An index of South African ADRs jumped Thursday afternoon, pulled higher in part by Sasol Ltd. after the oil and gas company's stock hit an all-time high.
The Bank of New York South African ADR Index jumped 11.76 points, or 2.4 percent, to 501.55. ADR stands for American Depositary Receipt, which is a security designed to allow U.S. investors to trade shares of companies based overseas.
Shares of Sasol rose $2.33, or 3.7 percent, to $64.74 after reaching $64.91 earlier in the session.
Light, sweet crude for June delivery fell $1.32 to $122.90 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange after jumping as high as $126.64 earlier.
Meanwhile, shares of Sappi Ltd., which makes coated paper, gained 57 cents, or 3.9 percent, to $15.05.
Shares of Gold Fields Ltd. gained 28 cents, or 2.1 percent, to $13.81.
Shares of Harmony Gold Mining Co. added 18 cents to $12.44.
Gold for June delivery jumped $13.50 to settle at $880 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange, after earlier rising as high as $888.50 an ounce.
Highveld Steel & Vanadium Corp. was among two losers on the eight-member index. Its shares fell 53 cents, or 2.3 percent, to $23.16.
The Bank of New York Emerging Markets ADR Index -- which includes shares of companies based in South Africa, Mexico, Brazil and more -- gained 5.73 points to 384.65. The Bank of New York Composite ADR Index gained 2.62 points to 185.15 as the U.S. markets rose in afternoon trading. 