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JSE flat after volatile session
November 3, 2011--The JSE ended the day fairly flat after a volatile period approaching close.
A local trader said: "The 25 basis point cut from the ECB sparked some buying, but then we pulled back to previous levels, and Greece confirmed that the referendum was going to be scrapped and positive trade came back."
As the market came to a close however, the mild rise pulled back again.
The JSE All Share [JSE:J203] index ended static at 0.05% up, with platinum gaining 1.12%, and resources collecting 0.36%. Gold lost 0.14%.
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Source: FIN24
Rand soars as Greek chaos eases
November 3, 2011--The rand firmed against the dollar on Thursday as Greek government plans for a referendum on a sovereign bailout unravelled.
A surprise European Central Bank decision to cut its main interest rate by 25 basis points also improved sentiment towards risky assets.
The rand has been extremely volatile in light of the uncertainties around the Greek debt crisis, which have seen investors vacillate between taking on and dumping risky assets.
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Source: FIN24
JSE snaps losing run
November 2, 2011--South African stocks ended higher for the first time this week, with miners adding the most points to the blue-chip index on rallying commodity prices.
Hopes that the US central bank, which concludes a two-day meeting on Wednesday, could further boost that country’s economy, along with a meeting between German, French and Greek leaders added to the bullish tone.
“There’s a possibility of QE 3 (a further round of quantitative easing), that probably has had positive effect on the market,” said Byron Lotter, a portfolio manager at Vestact Asset Management.
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Source: FIN24
Rand climbs against dollar, lifts bonds
November 2, 2011-- The rand gained 2% on the dollar on Wednesday, recovering from a 1-1/2 week low as risky assets got a reprieve from heavy selling, which in turn gave longer government debt a lift.
The rand firmed to 7.9500 against the dollar, compared with Tuesday’s close of 8.1100, largely tracking moves in the euro, which traders said was getting a breather while investors brace for the next EU debt crisis developments.
Yields on government bonds dropped from one-week highs as the rand’s strength drove some real money accounts to pick bonds up while the risk rally was on.
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Source: FIN24
Risk aversion hammers rand, JSE
November 1, 2011--The rand weakened against the dollar on Tuesday as a Greek plan for a referendum on a bailout package raised worries that the eurozone debt crisis is far from over.
The rand had trimmed its losses though after German and French leaders said they were determined to see through a three-point plan agreed last week to contain the debt crisis, which had calmed markets.
South African stocks also ended sharply lower, extending the decline to two days.
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Source: FIN24
Rand weaker, struggles to shake weakness
October 31, 2011-- South Africa’s rand weakened sharply against the dollar on Monday as the greenback rallied across the board after the Bank of Japan’s steps to weaken the yen.
The rand has been struggling to shrug off a weaker tone that saw it plunge to a 28-month low of 8.4950 against the dollar in September and has been at the mercy of fickle global sentiment in the past two months.
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Source: FIN24
SA stocks end bumper month on weak note
Ocober 31, 2011--South African stocks ended their strongest month since mid 2009 on a weaker note on Monday as faltering commodity prices weighed on miners.
The JSE Top 40 - (Tradeable) [JSE:J200] blue-chip index fell 1.85% to 29 019.06, but logged a 10.02% gain for the month, the biggest monthly gain since July 2009 and ending a five-month losing run.
The broader All Share [JSE:J203] index gave up 1.66% to 32 348.54.
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Source: FIN24
Liquidity: the scourge of African stock pickers
October 28, 2011--For an hour each morning, Malawi's sleepy stock exchange shows signs of life, when an official takes to the trading room floor and calls out the names of the 15 listed companies.
Sometimes, he is met with shouts of "offer!", "offer!" from brokers keen to trade. But often, he is met with silence and another lonely session passes without a single exchange.
"Foreign currency and fuel are scarce, and most foreign investors have gone quiet," said Davis Manyenje, the managing director of FDH Stockbrokers, one of four brokerages doing business on the Malawi Stock Exchange.
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Source: Reuters
Rand softer as euro excitement fades
October 28, 2011--The rand was slightly softer against the dollar in noon trade on Friday as excitement faded over proposals made at the European summit's meeting this week to help solve the eurozone's sovereign debt problems.
"Nothing really clear has come out of the eurozone summit - so there's no firm direction for the rand which is euro driven," a local currency trader said.
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Source: FIN24
SA's budget deficit widens in first half
October 28, 2011-- South Africa’s budget deficit widened to R103.759bn in the first six months of the 2011/12 financial year from R90.439bn the same period last year.
The Treasury said in a statement posted on its website on Friday revenue was at R325.539bn at the end of September, from R303.885bn in the same period last year. In its three-year fiscal framework, the National Treasury on Tuesday raised its forecast for the budget deficit for the 2011/12 financial year.
It said the budget shortfall would widen to 5.5% of gross domestic product from 5.0% last year, wider than the February estimate of 5.3%.
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Source: FIN24
