Johannesburg - Mining firms dragged the bourse lower on Thursday.
The benchmark JSE Top40 index shed 0.84percent to 43953.15 points, while the all share index slipped 0.76percent to 50910.71 points.
Miners Anglo American and BHP Billiton were the biggest losers among the blue chips as the prices of most industrial metals fell and copper sunk to a two-month low.
Anglo shares were down 3.01 percent at R186.25 and BHP Billiton declined 2.87 percent to R202.37.
Gold miners also lost ground after the bullion price hit a five-week low on US rate hike expectations.
Gold Fields dropped 1.2 percent to R39.57 and Sibanye Gold retreated 0.76 percent to R24.90.
Lonmin weakened 8.56 percent to R13.14, while Glencore dropped 2.22 percent to R50.28.
Drugmaker Aspen Pharmacare was one of the Top40’s best performers after posting a 6 percent rise in half-year profit and a 13 percent revenue jump as it reported its first sales in China.
“The China strategy fits with the general Aspen approach of acquiring specific drugs and using their sales force to cross sell multiple products,” said 36One Asset Management analyst Shmuel Simpson. Aspen shares rose 1.19 percent to R277.85.