Markets WRAP: Rand closes at R14.17/$

The rand closed at R14.17/$ on Monday. 

Here's how the day wrapped up: 

USDZAR 14.1712

EURUSD 1.1216

EURZAR 15.8865

GBPUSD 1.3126

GBPZAR 18.5918

AUDZAR 10.0848

CADZAR 10.6170

CNYZAR 2.1100

ZARJPY 7.8453

CHFZAR 14.1953

R186 8.47%

US 10 Year 2.48%

JSE 1.27%

FTSE 0.54%

S&P 500 0.78%

Gold 1 291.83 

Plat 852.50 

Plad 1 411.50 

Rhod 3 130.00 

Irid 1 470.00 

Ruth    268.00 

Copp 6 497.25 

Brent 68.54 

Gold ZAR 18 296.97 

Plat ZAR 12 074.47 

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Rand extends gains 

The rand extended gains against the dollar on Monday afternoon, firming by near 1%. 

The local currency opened the day at R14.32, and was trading at R14.19 at 16:30. 

Oil extends gains 

Alex Longley, Bloomberg 

Oil extended gains toward $61 a barrel in New York on signs China’s economy is stabilising, and as investors hope for a breakthrough in the country’s trade talks with the US that will resume this week.

Crude futures rose as much as 1.3%, following their strongest quarter since 2009.

China’s manufacturing PMI eased worries over the global economic outlook and boosted sentiment across financial markets.

Chinese Vice Premier Liu He is set to travel to Washington to meet US negotiators from Wednesday, and sit down with President Donald Trump.

he dollar dropped after four days of gains, also helping crude higher.

“Positive risk sentiment as gauged by rising equity markets, and a weaker dollar are helping oil,” UBS Group AG analyst Giovanni Staunovo wrote in a report.

Oil rallied 32% in the first quarter as Saudi Arabia led the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies in squeezing supplies to prevent a glut.

Unplanned supply losses from Venezuela and Iran have also helped prices rise, but the trade war between the world’s two biggest economies and signs of slowing global growth have limited further gains.

Pharma group Aspen becomes fifth largest company to list on A2X

Aspen Pharmacare became the fifth largest company by market capitalisation to list on the alternative A2X exchange on Monday morning. 

The pharmaceutical group, which has a market cap of R42.4bn, will retain its primary listing on the JSE. 

A2X, which has been active since October 2017, is a licensed stock exchange which provides secondary listings for SA companies. A total of 18 companies have been listed on the exchange, including heavy hitters Naspers, the Standard Bank Group and Sanlam.  

'No news is good news' for rand at start of week

The rand was stable in early trade on Monday morning, after ratings agency Moody's skipped issuing a rating review of SA's sovereign debt on Friday night. 

This means the country's credit rating remained unchanged at Baa3, the last rung of investment grade, with a stable outlook. 

If Moody's had downgraded SA to sub-investment grade, the country would have been ejected from the Citi World Government Bond Index, forcing asset managers to sell billions of rands' worth of SA bonds.

SA yields fall to 10-month low as Moody's forgoes action

South African benchmark bond yields fell to the lowest in 10 months and the rand extended gains after Moody’s Investors Service chose not to update its investment grade rating on the country’s sovereign debt or the outlook.

Yields on rand-denominated securities due December 2026 fell five basis points to 8.55% by 8:09 in Johannesburg, the lowest since May 30. The rand led gains in emerging-market currencies, advancing for a second day to trade 1.3% stronger at 14.3077 per dollar

Stocks gain, yen dips as China eases growth worry

Adam Haigh, Bloomberg

Stocks in Asia climbed with US and European equity futures, and Treasuries slipped as evidence of a pick-up in China’s manufacturing eased concerns about a global economic slowdown.

Chinese shares posted the biggest gains and equities climbed more than 1.5% in Japan, Hong Kong and South Korea, building on the biggest quarterly advance for Asian stocks since 2012.

Both of China’s key manufacturing PMIs for March beat the highest estimate in Bloomberg surveys of economists, and indicated an acceleration in activity in the world’s No. 2 economy.

The yen declined while Treasuries fell with Australian government bonds. Oil pushed higher.

US-China trade talks will resume when Vice Premier Liu He leads a delegation to Washington later this week.

Global equities are coming off the back of the best quarter since 2010 amid bets a move from major central banks to offer more policy support will help prop up earnings growth. The advance helped to recoup most of the losses from the fourth quarter.

Meanwhile, in the bond market, yields remain near multi-year lows amid concern about the deterioration in global growth.

The Chinese data went some way to ease these worries prior to the release of monthly jobs data at the end of the week in the US.

China’s data “was encouraging,” said Thomas Harr, global head fixed income and commodity research at Danske Bank. “There is still a good chance that global and euro-zone growth will improve in coming quarters, as the US and China will reach a trade deal, while the Fed’s dovish shift and China’s stimulus will help.”

Elsewhere, the lira slipped as preliminary results from the weekend’s municipal elections showed the popularity of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is being tested. The pound was steady as a resounding defeat on Friday left UK Prime Minister Theresa May at an impasse, with talk of a possible third general election in four years gathering steam.

The Turkish lira fell after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling party looked set to lose control of key cities in a vote on Sunday, fueling concern that authorities will trigger further currency weakness by doubling down on populist policies.

The currency dropped more than 1% in the Asia session, before trimming some of its losses to 0.2$ at 5.5839 per dollar as of 7:52 in Istanbul.Early results showed the opposition winning the capital Ankara and taking control of Mediterranean coastal cities from Erdogan’s alliance.

While an ally of the president claimed the race in Istanbul, the opposition candidate said the result was manipulated and the party’s leader also declared victory.