26 Nov 2018
Rand consistent in today's session
The rand which opened at R13.82/$ on Monday ended the day stronger at R13.84 to the greenback.
Last week ratings agency Standard and Poor's kept SA's foreign currency debt rating at BB, and the local currency debt rating at BB+ with the outlook stable.
The week ahead will see data releases such as the BER business and consumer confidence, on Tuesday and Wednesday respectively.
"We expect business sentiment to have been damped by the weak demand environment, while consumer confidence is likely to retreat lower weighed down by higher administered prices and lacklustre employment gains," said RMB Research analysts Mpho Tsebe and Elena Ilkova.
Closing indicators from TreasuryONE:
USDZAR 13.8392
EURUSD 1.1336
EURZAR 15.6803
GBPUSD 1.2811
GBPZAR 17.7206
AUDZAR 10.0174
CADZAR 10.4647
CNYZAR 1.9917
ZARJPY 8.1741
CHFZAR 13.8628
Gold 1 223.30
Plat 839.75
Plad 1 130.80
Rhod 2 565.00
Irid 1 470.00
Ruth 268.00
Copp 6 236.50
Brent 59.69
Gold ZAR 16 921.05
Plat ZAR 11 615.67
26 Nov 2018
OVERVIEW: US stock futures advanced alongside shares in Europe and Asia as investors looked more optimistically on the outlook for interest rates and trade in the wake of another miserable week in markets. Treasuries declined, while government bonds in Italy and Greece rallied. Banks and automakers led the Stoxx Europe 600 Index higher, with nearly all sectors in the green, after stocks rose in most of Asia except for China and Australia.
The yen and dollar dipped as investors showed renewed appetite for risk. Italy’s bonds jumped as state officials began studying scenarios for a lower 2019 budget deficit target, while markets climbed in Greece after one of the nation’s banks revealed a plan to deal with troubled loans. Credit-default swap indexes for both European high-grade and high-yield debt fell in tandem amid the general risk-on mood, with the cost of insuring against default retreating from a two-year high.
Investors will turn their focus this week to Federal Reserve speeches and policy-meeting minutes that may give clues on the 2019 rates outlook, and a key sit-down between Presidents Xi Jinping and Donald Trump ahead of the next scheduled escalation in tariff hikes. After stock markets skidded last week, and with bond traders reducing expectations for the pace of US monetary policy tightening, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell has the opportunity to shed light on prospects for a pause in a speech Wednesday.
“If the Federal Reserve was genuinely worried that the fall in equity markets could cause significant balance-sheet problems, say in the US corporate side, then it could easily step back,” Berenberg Senior Economist Kallum Pickering said in a Bloomberg TV interview. “You don’t have the wage and price inflation that leads the Fed to think, ‘We’re going to have to create some unemployment in order to stabilise the cycle.’”
Elsewhere, the pound advanced after European Union leaders agreed to a Brexit deal with UK Prime Minister Theresa May. Bitcoin extended its recent tumble to below $4,000 as cryptocurrencies fell across the board.
Brent oil futures climbed from their lowest level in more than a year on Friday, even as concerns of a glut persist.
26 Nov 2018
Oil traded near $51 a barrel on concerns record output by Saudi Arabia may exacerbate a supply glut, and as President Donald Trump continues to call for lower prices.
Futures in New York halted a decline, after slumping 7.7% to the lowest level in more than a year on Friday.
Trump reiterated his view that falling oil prices are great even after the US benchmark plunged the most last week since January 2016.
Saudi Arabia’s oil minister suggested last week that the kingdom has boosted output above 10.7 million barrels, while he added the world’s biggest exporter won’t oversupply the market.
26 Nov 2018
Bitcoin’s tumble worsened over the weekend, putting the 2018 crash within striking distance of the cryptocurrency’s worst bear markets. The virtual currency, conceived just over a decade ago, fell as low as $3,475 on Sunday, Bitstamp prices show.
It was trading at $4,033 as of 07:40 in London, according to Bloomberg composite pricing. That’s 5.3% below its level at 17:00 New York time on Friday, and about 79% below its closing peak in December. The crash, which also ensnared rival coins like Ether and XRP, has now entered the same league as Bitcoin’s 93% plunge in 2011 and its 84% rout from 2013 to 2015, during the collapse of Tokyo-based crypto exchange Mt. Gox.
In dollar terms, the damage has been even bigger this time around: Virtual currencies tracked by CoinMarketCap.com have lost more than $700 billion of value since the market peaked. While bulls are betting that demand from institutional investors will spark a rally, most big money managers have stayed on the sidelines amid concerns over exchange security, market manipulation and regulatory risk.The sell-off is “really testing the faith of a few key players,” Ryan Rabaglia, Hong Kong-based head trader at OSL, a cryptocurrency dealing firm, said in a phone interview. “I do think for this next push, we are going to need that institutional money to come in finally. To lend that support and help with growth.”
26 Nov 2018
Rand up in early trade
The rand firmed in early trade on Monday morning, strengthening by 0.5% against the dollar.
The local currency was trading at R13.78/$ just before 09:00.
According to Bianca Botes of Peregrine Treasury Solutions, the local currency is expected to trade at under R14/$ for now.
"Friday night saw S&P maintain South Africa's credit rating at sub-investment, or junk, status with an outlook that remains stable. The rand showed no reaction to the rating agency’s announcement or subsequent comments, however, urgent reform is required from Treasury if we are looking to climb the ladder to investment grade again," she said.
"This week, the focus will fall on the following key global events: the meeting between the US and China; US GDP figures; the unfolding of Brexit; media addresses by the Federal Reserve Chairman where we will seek guidance regarding the interest rate hiking cycle of the US. Locally, the PPI and trade balance data will also be filtered into the mix."
26 Nov 2018
JSE fines Pepkor Holdings R5m for breaches of listing requirements
The JSE has fined Pepkor Holdings [JSE:PPH], formerly known as Steinhoff Africa Retail, R5m for breaching the local bourse's listing requirements, with R1m suspended for two years.
Pepkor, then still known as STAR, listed on the JSE on September 20, 2017.
The JSE said on Monday that the company had not disclosed certain financial information about loans in its pre-listing statement and its 2017 annual financial statements.