In early February, South African stocks dropped significantly, following a steep decline on the previous Friday. This downturn was largely due to a significant retreat in the metals sector, which heavily impacted the market. Both the FTSE/JSE All Share Index and the Top-40 slumped by over 3% from their peak levels, primarily driven by a downturn in mining stocks. Prominent mining companies such as Sibanye Stillwater, Gold Fields, and AngloGold Ashanti saw their stock prices decrease as gold, silver, and copper prices retracted from their recent surges due to heightened profit-taking activities.