Markets WRAP: The rand closed at R14.03/$

The rand closed at R14.03 to the greenback on Friday afternoon.

The day's range was between R13.89 and R14.04.

Grand Parade Investments announced on Friday that it had appointed Keshan Pillay as an independent non-executive director of the Company with effect from 11 July 2019.

"Mr Pillay is a senior investment professional with a wealth of experience in the investing, financing and structuring of corporate transactions. He is the CEO of Makalani Management Company for the past 11 years, previously an executive director at the Mineworkers Investment Company and has also held a number of non-executive directorships of various listed and unlisted companies during his career," the group said in an update to shareholders. 

Steinhoff posts R8.9bn loss in half-year earnings report

Steinhoff has posted a loss of €571m (R8.9bn at current exchange rates) for the half-year ended March 31.

The Stellenbosch-headquartered conglomerate on Friday published its unaudited half-year earnings report on Friday.

OVERVIEW

US equity futures climbed alongside stocks in Europe as investors clung to their cautious optimism on prospects for easier monetary policy. Euro-zone bonds fell. Contracts on all three of the main US stock gauges rose after the S&P 500 Index closed Thursday at a record high.

Gains in auto and chemical shares on the Stoxx Europe 600 pushed the benchmark toward its first increase this week. Shares dipped in Australia and Japan and posted modest gains in Hong Kong, China and South Korea.Government bonds extended their decline in Europe, heading for their worst week since at least October, after industrial output data for the euro region beat expectations. The single currency was steady. Treasury 10-year yields held near a one-month high. The rally in risk assets is continuing to benefit from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s dovish comments this week, even after strong US inflation data on Thursday offered a potential complication to policy makers when they set rates at the end of the month.

Meanwhile, weak data from both Singapore and China sent another warning shot to the world economy on the impact of trade tensions. The reports came after President Donald Trump complained that China hasn’t increased its purchases of American farm products, a promise he said he had secured at his G-20 meeting with the country’s president Xi Jinping last month.

Elsewhere, WTI oil headed for its sixth advance in seven sessions as operators in the Gulf of Mexico braced for Tropical Storm Barry.

Here are the main moves in markets:

Stocks

Futures on the S&P 500 Index advanced 0.2% as of 11:15 London time to the highest on record. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index gained 0.2%, the first increase in more than a week. The UK’s FTSE 100 Index climbed 0.3%, the first rise in more than a week. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index dipped 0.2%. The MSCI Emerging Market Index sank 0.3%.

Currencies

The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index dipped less than 0.05% to the lowest in more than a week.The British pound climbed 0.1% to $1.2535, the strongest in more than a week.The Japanese yen advanced 0.1% to 108.41 per dollar, the strongest in more than a week. The euro gained less than 0.05% to $1.1259, the strongest in more than a week.

Bonds

The yield on 10-year Treasuries dipped less than one basis point to 2.14%. Germany’s 10-year yield advanced three basis points to -0.20%, the highest in six weeks. Britain’s 10-year yield gained one basis point to 0.843%, the highest in three weeks.

Commodities

Gold increased 0.2% to $1,406.92 an ounce. West Texas Intermediate crude gained 0.5% to $60.48 a barrel, the highest in more than seven weeks. - Bloomberg

Oil set for best week in three on Iran tension and storm threat

Tsuyoshi Inajima, Bloomberg

Oil headed for its biggest weekly gain in three weeks as simmering Middle East tensions, shrinking US crude inventories and a storm in the Gulf of Mexico all conspired to threaten the supply outlook.

Futures rose 0.7% in New York Friday and are up more than 5% for the week. Tropical Storm Barry, which could hit the Louisiana coast on Saturday, has already curbed about half of the energy output in the Gulf.

Iran’s attempt to block the passage of a British tanker in the Persian Gulf ratcheted up tension in the oil-rich region, while American crude stockpiles have fallen to the lowest level in almost three months.

Global stocks mixed to end busy week

Adam Haigh and Laura Curtis, Bloomberg

Stocks in Europe and Asia struggled for traction on Friday and US equity futures edged higher as investors stumbled to the end of a hectic week. The dollar weakened for a third day.

The Stoxx Europe 600 fluctuated as declines in healthcare shares offset gains in banks. U.S. equities futures nudged up after the S&P 500 index closed Thursday at a record high. Shares dipped in Australia and Japan and posted modest gains in Hong Kong, China and South Korea.

A tweet from President Donald Trump, complaining about China trade policy sent equities into a fleeting swoon and showed how sensitive markets remains to trade-related developments. Yields on 10-year Treasuries slipped from a one-month high.

While the rally in risk assets got a fresh boost from Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s dovish comments, the strong CPI data Thursday in the U.S. offers a potential complication to policymakers in Washington prior to their decision at month’s end. Traders pulled back bets on a half-point cut in July after the inflation data.

Special appropriation to help Eskom coming within two weeks - Mboweni

Minister of Finance Tito Mboweni told Parliament on Thursday evening that he planned to introduce a special appropriation bill in Parliament on July 23 after consulting with Parliament to make funding available to Eskom for the 2019-20 and 2020-21 financial years. Mboweni was tabling his budget vote in Parliament.

His budget vote outlined a total allocation of R30.8bn for National Treasury in the 2019-20 financial year. He said this would be used to conduct research on the economy and foster growth-friendly policy.