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Volatile rand breaches R8/$
May 9, 2012--The rand weakened by over 10 cents on Wednesday afternoon as European political turmoil continued to upset emerging market sentiment.
An analyst said attention had shifted to the actions of the European Central Bank (ECB) as it attempted to counter the crisis.
The possibility of Greece's exit from the ECB has heightened global concern after reported figures showed an increase in the chances of exiting had risen to 15% from 5%. It is hoped the ECB can stop a potential Greek exit.
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Source: FIN24
JSE extends losses on risk aversion
May 8, 2012--The JSE extended losses at noon on Tuesday, tracking the weaker trend on world stock markets, with political uncertainty in Greece still the main catalyst for market selloffs, in the absence of fresh market moving data.
At 12:03 local time, the JSE All Share [JSE:J203] index was down 0.59% to 33 756.54 points, with platinum shares falling 1.41%, gold miners shedding 0.90% and resource counters losing 0.44%.
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Source: FIN24
Rand retreats to three-week low
May 8, 2012--South Africa's rand hit its worst level in three-weeks on Tuesday, declining with investors' appetite to take up risk while Europe looks politically unstable. Soft domestic jobs numbers added to the beating as they pointed to an uncertain economic recovery.
Joblessness increased to 25.2% of the labour force in the first quarter of the year, rising back to the stubborn quarter mark after 23.9% unemployment in the fourth quarter.
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Source: FIN24
JSE still down, but off session lows
May 7, 2012--The JSE was off its worst level at noon on Monday, boosted by bargain hunting in gold shares and as Dow futures pared its losses.
At 12:02 local time, the JSE All Share [JSE:J203] index was down 0.79% to 33 858.84 points, with resources falling 0.82%, platinum miners shedding 1.13%, while gold counters lifted 0.59%.
Financials lost 0.82%, banking stocks were down 0.97% and industrials dropped 0.78%.
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Source: FIN24
Rand stuck in ranges, tracks euro
May 7, 2012--The rand was stuck in ranges, tracking the euro, which stabilised in Monday afternoon trade.
The local currency started off weaker in the morning, reacting to the European political influence, which impacted on the markets.
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Source: FIN24
Bonds weaken as investors dump risk assets
May 7, 2012--South African government bonds weakened on Monday as political uncertainty over Europe's austerity measures weighed on appetite for riskier assets around the globe.
Yields on the benchmark 2015 bond jumped five basis points to 6.425% and that on the 2026 issue up 5.5 basis points to 8.15%.
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Source: FIN24
US jobs report knocks JSE
May 4, 2012-- The JSE ended lower on Friday, dragged down mainly by the selloff in the resources space amid global growth concerns following the worst-than-expected US jobs report for April.
At 17:00 local time, the JSE All Share [JSE:J203] index was down 0.72% to 34 127.28 points, with resources shares sliding 2.19%, platinum shares losing 0.47%, while gold plays recovered 1.18%.
Financials were flat (0.05%), banking shares inched up 0.12% while industrials edged down 0.11%
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Source: FIN24
Bonds softer ahead of US data
May 4, 2012--Bonds were a smidgen softer in thin noon trade on Friday as markets await key US jobs data later in the day.
"We've witnessed some foreign selling into the strength that we have seen in the past few days, so bonds are a bit on the soft side this morning. But trade is also very thin at the moment.
"The market is now waiting for the US jobs data later this afternoon to see whether that provides any direction," a local bond trader said.
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Source: FIN24
Rand range bound, awaits US job report
May 4, 2012--The rand was range bound in midday trade on Friday, with investors in the forex markets not keen to take new positions ahead of the US jobs report later in the session.
PSG Prime FX sales trader Lynden Reabow said that if the US nonfarm payroll data for April came out bullish, this could encourage risk-on environment which was rand positive. However, if it was bearish, this could strengthen the US dollar.
"The European Central Bank president gave us little guidance on Wednesday, with US ADP numbers not giving us any comfort because they were negative," he said.
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Source: FIN24
JSE dips, awaits US job data
May 3, 2012--Africa's largest producer, AngloGold Ashanti and third-placed Gold Fields shed 2% each to R258.06 and R97.62 respectively, hit by a decline in the price of gold.
South African share prices eased from a record high in the previous session led by gold mining stocks such as Harmony and investors will be watching employment statistics out of the United States for direction.
Banking shares moved in the opposite direction after data showing that jobless claims in the world's biggest economy fell last week boosted expectations that the US non-farm payroll report due out on Friday would beat expectations.
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Source: FIN24
