S African stocks hit record high

JOHANNESBURG, Feb 14 (Reuters): South African stocks ended higher on Friday, helping the broader index notch up a second consecutive record high, as an upbeat tone in major overseas markets boosted sentiment.

Woolworths was among the top gainers, extending gains to the second straight day after posting a double-digit earnings growth on Thursday.

"We continue to favour Woolies as the best entry into what is now Southern Hemisphere retail," said Sasha Naryshkine, a fund manager at Vestact in a note.

Shares in the company, which also operates in Australia, rose 4.4 per cent to 90.50 rand, slightly below a record 90.55 rand set earlier.

Overall, traders took their cue from higher overseas markets after forecast-smashing growth data from Germany boosted appetite for risky assets worldwide.

The All-share index, the broadest measure of the stock market performance, notched up a record 52,984 before pulling back slightly to at 52,967, up 0.88 per cent. The blue-chip Top-40 index gained 0.97 per cent to 46,739.