its lowest level since 23 September 1999. Subsequently this index increased again by 14½% on 10 May 2000 as investors saw increasingly good value for South African shares. The general decline in share prices from mid-January was at first countered by increases in the share prices of gold mines and information technology enterprises.
The decline in the index at that stage was driven by decreases in the share prices of financial institutions, non-gold-mining companies and the industrial consumer sector. From February 2000, when the dollar price of gold fell below $ per fine ounce, the gold-mining shares declined by 17% up to the end of April.