STOCKS NEWS AFRICA-Village Main ticks higher on production

STOCKS NEWS Reuters Results diary Stocks on the move Real-time Equity News 0900GMT 11Oct12 - Village Main Reef ticks higher on production --------------------------------------------------------------

Shares of Village Main Reef add 1.6 percent to 1.29 rand after the South African mining company reports an 11 percent rise in gold production for the July-September quarter.

The company says production improved at all its operations, with a 15 percent increase at its Tau Lekoa mine.

Reuters Messaging: david.dolan.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net 0829GMT 11Oct12 - Absa recovers after sell-off ----------------------------------------------

Shares of South Africa's Absa Group recover more than 1 percent to 136.11 rand following a sharp sell-off in the previous session, when shares were hit by news a group of black shareholders had sold a stake in the bank worth about $370 million.

Shares of Absa slid nearly 3 percent on Wednesday.

Batho Bonke Capital, a consortium of black investors led by prominent businessman and politician Tokyo Sexwale, offloaded a roughly 3.4 percent stake in Absa, almost all of its holding, allowing it to exit one of the post-apartheid era's high profile "black empowerment" deals.

South African companies have used such deals - loan shares to black investors or selling stakes at a discount - to increase their black ownership and meet government targets to help those disadvantaged by the apartheid regime.

Reuters Messaging: david.dolan.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net

Keywords: MARKETS AFRICA STOCKSNEWS