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Softer world markets drag down JSE
November 9, 2012--The JSE closed in negative territory on Friday albeit off its intra-day lows, as the bourse followed world markets lower amid lingering fiscal cliff-tax increases and spending cuts-concerns and worries about how the US Congress will tackle this problem.
At 17:00‚ the JSE All Share [JSE:J203] index was down 0.66% to 37 344.40 points‚ with the top-40 index losing 0.85%. The gold sector was the only index showing some upside‚ adding 1.04% on the day‚ while the platinum sector was the worst performer‚ dropping 3.06%.
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Source: FIN24
Bonds firmer despite rand weakness
November 9, 2012--The SA bond market maintained a positive bias in late trade, with the longer end of the yield curve attracting the most interest despite the softer rand.
At 15:44 the benchmark R186 was trading at 7.580% from Thursday’s close of 7.625%. The R157 was trading at 5.445% from its previous close of 5.460% and the R207 was bid at 6.435% and offered at 6.410%‚ from its previous close of 6.440%.
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Source: FIN24
Rand softer due to dollar strength
November 9, 2012--The rand pared gains in late trade on Friday due to some dollar strength coming through due to continued eurozone debt concerns.
“The rand is softer due to some dollar strength. We have seen the local currency a lot weaker on other days‚” said a local trader.
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Source: FIN24
Nigeria makes credit ratings debut
November 8, 2012--Nigeria, Kenya and Zambia, three of Africa's most dynamic economies, received their first sovereign ratings from the Moody's agency on Wednesday, handily beating Greece in the creditworthiness stakes.
Predicting African governments would increasingly turn to markets to fund public programmes, Moody's gave Nigeria the highest rating of the trio, at Ba3, just under investment grade.
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Source: FIN24
JSE softer, awaiting local data
November 8, 2012--The JSE opened in negative territory on Thursday amid quiet trade with investors awaiting local mining and manufacturing figures for September due out on Thursday.
At 09:26 the JSE all share index [JSE:J203] was trading 0.33% lower at 37 345.00 points‚ the top 40 [JSE:J200] was down 0.37% and the gold mining index dipped 0.54% after a major surge of 4.50% on Wednesday due to gold that was bought because it is seen as an anti-inflationary measure in the US.
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Source: FIN24
Rand weakens on data worries
November 8, 2012--The rand weakened on Thursday afternoon as traders reacted to disappointing local data and worries that the EU was sliding further into recession.
“South African manufacturing data out earlier today was extremely negative for the rand. Mine production‚ which also came out today was also very negative for the rand. The mine production was not a huge shock as it was expected due to the strikes in the mining industry‚” said Mark Kalkwarf‚ a senior portfolio manager from the Iquad Group.
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Source: FIN24
Gold index pulls JSE higher
November 7, 2012--The JSE traded marginally higher on Wednesday morning with US President Barack Obama's re-election having little effect on the bourse, as an Obama victory was widely expected by world markets.
Obama is only the second Demcratic president to be elected to serve a second term since World War Two.
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Source: FIN24
Improving business climate is key challenge -Africa improves
November 6, 2012--Some African governments are making it easier to do business in their countries, but it remains a key challenge. Excessive and unhelpful regulation put off local and foreign investors all over Africa and growth and development is held back by governments that lack interest and capacity to foster private sector growth which brings jobs, improvements to currency flows and tax revenues.
Many African economies could score at low outlay by finding ways to streamline and improve business regulations, including systems to prune and get rid of old or contradictory laws, and by improving capacity at business licencing, tax and other government departments.
The business environment is rising higher on the agenda of African governments and more progress is being made, but there are still major issues.
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Source: African Capital Markets News
JSE closes flat after earlier highs
November 6, 2012--The JSE pared gains on Tuesday to close off the all-time high reached earlier in the day, with banks and financials gaining and mining houses dropping.
Global markets were mostly subdued‚ while investors’ attention is firmly focussed on the outcome of the US presidential election.
At 5pm‚ the All Share [JSE:J203] index closed flat at 37 597.68 points‚ with the banking sector gaining 1.51% and resources giving up 0.45%.
The JSE was fairly positive earlier‚ but closed off its highs after disappointing PMI figures out of Europe.
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Source: FIN24
Rand flat, eyes US election
November 6, 2012--The rand was relatively flat in the late morning on Tuesday as traders eye US election on policy direction.
At 11:20am‚ the rand was bid at R8.7194 to the US dollar from Monday’s close of R8.7250. It was bid at R11.1335 to the euro from its previous close of R11.1660 and at R13.9218 against sterling from R13.9418 before.
The euro was bid at $1.2775 from Monday’s close of $1.2800.
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Source: FIN24
