Precious-metals miners that drove South African equities to record highs have reversed course, dragging the benchmark index toward its steepest quarterly decline in over two years. The sector that once powered the market's outperformance has become its biggest liability, erasing months of gains in a matter of weeks as commodity prices retreat.

The precious-metals miners served as the primary engine behind the rally that lifted South African stocks to world-beater status. Their sharp pullback now weighs heavily on the broader gauge, turning former leadership into a millstone that threatens to deepen the slump across the entire market.

This quarterly downturn marks the worst performance since early 2022, a striking reversal for a market that recently stood at all-time highs. The speed of the deterioration underscores how concentrated the prior advance had been in a single commodity-driven sector.

Investors who chased the mining-led rally now face a benchmark retreating at a pace not seen in more than eight quarters, with no immediate catalyst to reverse the slide.