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Battered rand tipped to hit R8.00/$ soon
September 21, 2011--The rand tumbled nearly 3% to hit 16-month lows against the dollar on Wednesday as importers piled into the greenback, spooked by a recent trend of sharp declines that dealers said would continue.
In the early evening, the rand was trading at R7.8720/$, 1.7% weaker than Tuesday’s New York close of R7.74 and having hit R7.9650, its weakest since May 2010.
With over 5% of losses so far this week, the rand was on track to register its biggest weekly decline since May 2009.
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Source: FIN24
JSE rebounds, helped by miners
September 20, 2011--South African stocks rose to their highest level in more than six weeks on Tuesday, bouncing back from the previous session’s decline, with gold miners among the top gainers as the domestic currency falters and bullion prices cruise higher.
Grindrod also featured on the gainers’ list after Africa’s top shipping company said it would sell a stake to Remgro in exchange for a R2bn capital injection.
The JSE Top-40 Tradeable [JSE: J200] blue-chip index was up 1.41% at 28 043.66, a level last seen on August 1. The broader All-share [JSE:J203] index added 1.24% to 31 343.9.
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Source: FIN24
Rand gets boost from bond buying
September 20, 2011--The rand pared earlier losses against the dollar on Tuesday, bouncing from a 14-month low as investors bought bonds in a corrective move after a sharp sell-off last week.
Foreigners sold a net R6bn of local bonds last week as worries about the eurozone debt crisis deepened and expectations for a domestic interest rate cut were curbed by a sharp depreciation of the rand .
"After the sell-off last week, local bonds are looking quite attractive from a foreign perspective," said Chris Becker, market analyst at ETM.
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Source: FIN24
JSE negative, follows world markets
September 19, 2011--The JSE remained in the red at noon on Monday, as the local market continued to track global markets downwards.
A local trader said: "Volumes haven't been terribly exciting today and markets are still weak. Gold stocks continue to be the only performing sector. In certain cases, the rand hedges are helping stocks."
By 12:03 local time, the JSE All Share [JSE:J203] index weakened 0.77%. Gold picked up 3.41%, while platinum miners dropped 1.24% and resources were down 0.88%.
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Source: FIN24
Bonds weaken as selling continues
September 19, 2011--South African bonds weakened further in midday trade on Monday, as foreign players continued to offload local bonds on the back of Europe's debt problems.
According to Dow Jones Newswires, the lack of progress in solving the debt crisis at Friday's eurozone finance ministers meeting had heightened investor uncertainty.
By 11:50, the benchmark R157 bond was trading at 6.935% from its previous close of 6.770%. The R207 was bid at 8.100% and offered at 8.080% from 7.915% and the R186 was trading at 8.370% from its close of 8.190%.
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Source: FIN24
Rand sinks to new low against dollar
September 19, 2011--The rand fell over 2% against the dollar on Monday to its weakest level in over a year, with investors dumping higher risk assets on signs that the eurozone debt crisis is far from over.
The rand’s losses may see the market curb expectations of a rate cut over the next few months, especially after Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan said earlier South Africa’s inflation was persistent.
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Source: FIN24
JSE on the front foot in light trade
September 16, 2011--The JSE firmed in midday trade on Friday, albeit in light trade following a futures close-out on Thursday which generated large volumes.
Resources led the way, with banking stocks in negative territory amid some profit taking.
A local trader noted thin volumes, following a futures close-out on Thursday. "There is not a lot of movement today, but resources appear to be supporting the market's gains.
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Source: FIN24
Bonds firmer on short covering
September 16, 2011--South African bonds were firmer in quiet midday trade on Friday, which a trader attributed to some short covering.
By 11:50, the benchmark R157 bond was trading at 6.750%, from its previous close of 6.800%. The R207 was bid at 7.915% and offered at 7.895% from 7.920% and the R186 was trading at 8.180% from its close of 8.190%.
The rand was bid at 7.3859 against the dollar from its previous close of 7.3775.
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Source: FIN24
Rand ends week softer, stocks inch up
September 16, 2011--The rand ended the week on a bearish note on Friday, but bonds recovered somewhat after a sharp sell-off seen as overdone earlier in the week.
Domestic stocks inched to their highest close in two weeks, rising 0.13% as gains in Harmony Gold and other miners offset a downturn in banks.
Trade was subdued ahead of the weekend and after the settlement of September index futures on Thursday.
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Source: FIN24
JSE follows European stocks up
September 14, 2011--The JSE ended in the black as trade remained buoyed by earlier positive news out of Europe.
A local trader said that the JSE picked up following positive reaction to news of temporary financial assistance to European banks earlier.
"European markets didn't react to the French banks' downgrade and there maybe this was a result of the move being already priced in".
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Source: FIN24