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Johannesburg - South African stocks rose on Wednesday as investors bought everything from banks such as Barclays Africa to retailers, betting the US Federal Reserve would announce plans to delay interest rate hikes in a statement later in the day.
Shares of small-cap electronics equipment maker Ellies Holdings surged more than 11% after it announced a rights issue underwritten by two of its executives, alleviating concerns about its funding.
The Fed is expected to reiterate a cautious stance on raising interest rates when it publishes its latest policy statement at 18:00 GMT.
"Investors are betting on more dovish comments from Yellen, but I don't know if that's a wise bet," said Kyle Dutton, a broker at Mercato Financial Services in Johannesburg, referring to Federal Reserve chairperson Janet Yellen.
"If there are any surprises, then there could be a proper sell-off," he said, adding that valuations in the Johannesburg market remain stretched.
The benchmark Top-40 index advanced 1.4% to 43 797. The broader All-Share index also gained 1.4%, to 49 117.
Barclays Africa, South Africa's third-largest lender by market value, jumped 4.2% to R171. Smaller rival Nedbank advanced 3.3% to R234.90.
Shoprite, Africa's largest retailer, gained 3.1% to R153.58.
Trade was active, with 190 million shares changing hands according to preliminary bourse data. That outstripped last year's daily average of 176 million shares.
