Rand and retail data pressure long end
August 15, 2012--The long end of the South African bond curve continued to come under pressure in afternoon trade on Wednesday on the back of a softer rand and better than expected June retail sales data.
"It seems we have a dichotomy in the bond market as the short end continues to price in stable rates‚ while the long end reflects the view that the next move in the repo rate will be higher. That may be due to carry trade activity‚ as we still offer attractive returns compared with those available overseas‚ but those hot money flows are like a coiled spring and can be unwound very quickly‚” a local trader said.
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Source: FIN24
JSE ends stronger, banks lead
August 14, 2012--The JSE Limited [JSE:JSE] closed firmer on Tuesday in line with world markets, despite quiet trade and low volumes, with banks and financials leading the upside.
“We have had a quiet session today but this is not only a local occurrence; last night the US had volumes worth $13bn‚ the slowest trading day for the year so far‚” said Francois Venter‚ equity dealer at Investec Asset Management in Cape Town
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Source: FIN24
Rand little moved in quiet trade
August 14, 2012--The rand was slightly weaker in afternoon trade from earlier levels, pushing towards the 8.15/US dollar level, off low volumes.
At 15:50 local time the rand was bid at R8.1482 to the dollar from Monday’s close of R8.1491. It was bid at R10.0567 to the euro from its previous close of R10.0515 and at R12.7761 against sterling from R12.7775 before.
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Source: FIN24
JSE closes weaker, gold miners gain
August 13, 2012--The JSE closed weaker on Monday amid some consolidation after last week's strong showing, with gold miners the only index to finish in positive territory (0.45%).
The bourse gave up 0.44% to close at 35 417 points at 5pm local time‚ after offshore markets also slipped in the wake of disappointing economic data prints from China and Japan.
“The JSE has been gyrating in a narrow range today and it has been a mixed bag. Kumba drew attention being ex-dividend and down 5.5% and Exxaro rallied after its latest decline. There has been a bit of interest in gold shares‚ but it has not been a fun day today. The US is a bit down and that is seen percolating through to our markets‚” said Mark Wilkes‚ trader at Global Trader.
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Source: FIN24
Bonds weaker in quiet trade
August 13, 2012--The South African bond market was weaker in late trade on Monday amid light volumes.
"Wednesday‚ Thursday and Friday were busy days for US treasuries and bond yields went up around the globe and this has triggered a sell-off in our market‚" a local trader said.
"Economic data out of China and Asia has been weaker than expected‚ with a possibility of central bank monetary easing intervention and one would have expected a downward spiral in bonds‚ but instead they have gone up. The curve continues to flatten‚” he added.
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Source: FIN24
JSE ends higher, gold miners shine
August 10, 2012--The JSE share market closed higher on Friday amid light trading volumes, due to many traders being away on a long weekend. Gold miners led the upside, while the financials index was the only one to finish in the red.
“The JSE did not have a busy day due to a lot of traders being away on a long weekend. We opened lower as Asia finished down a tad. We saw the euro a bit softer from the previous two week’s rally. Locally Anglo American recovered nicely after some fair sales earlier in the day. The all-share started down‚ but we were marginally up at the close after having seen some profit taking after a good couple of days‚” said Michael du Plooy‚ stockbroker at PSG Konsult‚ Pretoria.
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Source: FIN24
JSE closes flat on weaker Dow open
August 8, 2012--The JSE Limited [JSE:JSE] closed flat (0.02%) on Wednesday on the back of the Dow Jones index opening weaker, with resources still leading the gains locally.
“We have been trading very strong and positive‚ but once the US market opened we came down. We have had a bit of a reality check today after our local market has been outperforming for a while‚” said Viv Govender‚ market watcher at Vunani Private Clients.
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Source: FIN24
Rand range-bound in late trade
August 8, 2012--The rand had hardly moved in late trade on Wednesday in the absence of fresh news to drive market sentiment.
At 4.05pm the rand was bid at R8.1808 to the dollar from Tuesday’s close of R8.1618. It was bid at R10.0930 to the euro from its previous close of R10.1160 and at R12.7875 against sterling from R12.7452 before.
The euro was bid at $1.2342 from $1.2393.
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Source: FIN24
Bonds softer amid quiet trade
August 8, 2012--The South African bond market traded slightly softer in very quiet territory on Wednesday afternoon ahead of the long weekend.
"Most traders called it quits earlier in the week due to the holiday tomorrow. There is very little going on in the market‚" a local trader said.
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Source: FIN24
RMB midcap exchange-traded fund launched
August 7, 2012--Rand Merchant Bank (RMB) has launched South Africa's first mid-cap exchange-traded fund (ETF) which was listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) on Tuesday.
The aim of the RMB MidCap ETF is to provide returns for investors which are linked to the performance of the FTSE/JSE Mid-Cap Index. The ETF will invest in all components of the index in proportion to the index weightings.
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Source: FIN24