Struggling miners put the brakes on South Africa’s stock rally

South African stocks have their noses in front of emerging-market peers, but glum news from China threatens to weigh on the key mining sector and stymie that outperformance. Johannesburg’s main equity index has climbed about 7% in 2024 in dollar terms, outshining the 4.6% advance for MSCI ’s gauge of emerging-market stocks. Miners aren’t helping, with the sector dragged lower by worries over weaker demand from China, the biggest customer for South Africa’s industrial metals.