Bonds maintain firmer tone
May 17, 2011-- South African bonds remained firm in late trade on Tuesday, on the back of a lower than expected consumer price index (CPI) figure and a "good" government auction earlier in the day.
By 15:55, the benchmark R157 bond was trading at 7.665% from its previous close of 7.720%. The R207 was bid at 8.435% and offered at 8.405% from 8.470% and the R186 was trading at 8.620% from 8.695%.
The rand was bid at 6.9954 to the dollar from its previous close of 6.9779.
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Source: FIN24
JSE tumbles on bleak global news
May 17, 2011--The JSE ended weaker on Tuesday as the pullback in commodity prices, questions over global economic growth and lingering concerns over euro-zone debt revived fears among investors around the world. The local bourse will be closed on Wednesday due to the local government elections.
Commodities, especially gold and platinum, weakened and dragged mining stocks along, a stock broker said.
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Source: FIN24
Weaker rand weighs on bonds
May 16, 2011--South African bonds were weaker in midday trade on Monday, mainly in line with the weaker rand.
By 11:55, the benchmark R157 bond was trading at 7.735% from 7.720% at the previous close. The R207 was bid at 8.505% and offered at 8.475% from 8.470%. The R186 was trading at 8.735% and offered at 8.720% from its previous close of 8.670%.
The rand was bid at 7.0036 to the dollar from its previous close of 7.0154.
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Source: FIN24
Defiant JSE on comeback trail
May 16, 2011--The JSE erased all the day's losses and ended firmer on Monday, with a modestly weaker dollar, slightly stronger commodities and upbeat earnings boding well for the local bourse. The domestic exchange defied most of its global counterparts.
There were continued concerns over the Greek debt crisis and the arrest of International Monetary Fund (IMF) chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn, said Kevin Algeo, portfolio manager at Imara SP Reid.
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Source: FIN24
Bonds track rand weaker
May 13, 2011--South African bonds lost up to nine basis points in late trade on Friday after a sharp weakening in the rand owing to a spike in demand for the dollar.
The dollar lost some ground after US CPI came in in line with expectations.
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Source: FIN24
Risk aversion drags rand lower
May 13, 2011-- The rand fell more than 1.6% against the dollar on Friday, breaching R7.0/$ for the first time in nearly two months on nagging worries about eurozone debt which have scared investors off risky assets.
In late afternoon trade the unit hovered around at R7.0048/$, down 1.4% from Thursday’s close at R6.9010/$. It briefly touched a session low of R7.0145/$ earlier, its weakest since March 19.
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Source: FIN24
JSE shrugs off gloomy global stocks
May 13, 2011-- High commodity prices and a weaker rand bolstered the JSE on Friday, shielding the local bourse from the jitters that saw Wall Street open lower and European stocks reverse earlier gains.
Warren Saevitzon, portfolio manager at Imara SP Reid, said marginally stronger commodities and a softer rand helped boost the domestic exchange, benefiting mining counters such as Anglo American [JSE:AGL] and export-oriented stocks like SABMiller [JSE:SAB].
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Source: FIN24
Bonds weaken on MPC inflation outlook
May 12, 2011--South African bonds were up to five basis points weaker in late trade on Thursday, which a trader said was on the back of South African Reserve Bank (Sarb) governor Gill Marcus's comment that inflation was forecast to reach 6.3% in the first quarter of 2012.
Meanwhile, the Sarb's Monetary Policy Committee decided to maintain the repo rate at 5.5% following its three-day meeting. The decision had been expected.
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Source: FIN24
Commodities sell-off drags on JSE
May 12, 2011--The JSE suffered a sell-off along with many other equities markets on Thursday, pressured by a drop in commodity prices and the resurgent dollar.
"The sharp sell-off in commodities, from last week, and the strong dollar are still putting pressure on the market," an equity derivatives dealer said.
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Source: FIN24
Rand bruised by stronger dollar
May 12, 2011--The rand remained weaker against the dollar in early evening trade on Thursday, despite getting a boost earlier in the day by the Reserve Bank's decision to keep interest rates on hold.
It was bid at at R6.93/$ at the JSE's close from R6.80/$ at Wednesday's close.
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Source: FIN24