South Africa’s equity market is closing October with renewed strength, positioning for its longest monthly rally in over a decade as investors respond to easing global conditions and improving local sentiment, Bloomberg reported.

Banking and telecommunications shares have emerged as key drivers of this momentum, helped by falling borrowing costs, robust dividends, and fresh interest in emerging-market assets. Technology investor Prosus NV, its parent Naspers Ltd., and MTN Group Ltd. have also lifted the market, buoyed by rising earnings and a rebound in Chinese tech stocks.

Market analysts say investors are rotating away from mining stocks toward financial and consumer sectors as valuations become more appealing. “Macro-economic optimism as well as a rotation into emerging markets are driving gains,” said Lester Davids of Unum Capital.

The FTSE/JSE Africa All Share Index has climbed 1.5 percent in October and is set for an eighth straight month of advances — the strongest run since early 2013. The upward trend reflects broader appetite for developing-nation assets, with the main emerging-market benchmark heading for its tenth monthly gain, the longest since 2004.

Investor confidence received a further lift after the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) removed South Africa from its grey list on October 24, following measures to tighten oversight of money laundering and terrorist financing. The move has been widely interpreted as strengthening the country’s financial standing.

According to Peter Takaendesa of Mergence Investment Managers, the current gains reflect a market adjustment rather than a speculative surge. “Falling global interest rates, easing trade tensions, and a softer US dollar have created favourable conditions for South Africa and other emerging markets,” he said.

Despite the optimism, parts of the market remain subdued. Retailers and local industrials have yet to recover from weak consumer spending, while precious-metals producers have slipped amid lower bullion prices. A Johannesburg index of mining and metals shares has fallen more than six percent this month, as gold retreats nine percent from its October 20 peak of 4,380 US dollars an ounce.