OREANDA-NEWS. February 19, 2015. South African stocks ended slightly lower on Wednesday, with Sasol taking the most points off the index after the petrochemical giant said it was preparing to cut its dividend payouts.

Sasol topped the decliners' list on the benchmark Top-40 index, falling 5.95 percent to 444.97 rand. The stock earlier dropped as much as 11 percent.

Traders' views that valuations are stretched after the stock market hit a chain of record highs last week weighed on the overall sentiment.

"From a relative perspective a number of sectors on the market continue to be fairly elevated when appraising short-term technical indicators," brokerage house Imara SP Reid said in a note. The JSE Top-40 index was down 0.53 percent at 46,465 and the broader All-share index was off 0.56 percent at 52,536.

Woolworths Holdings, which has gained nearly 15 percent so far this year, ended down 2.9 percent at 88.50 rand and Life Healthcare gave up 2.5 percent to 43.60 rand. On the upside, Blue Label Telecoms rose 2.7 percent after the company said half-year earnings rose 15 percent.

Trade was brisk, with 226 million shares exchanging hands, above last year's daily average of 183 million shares, according to preliminary bourse data.