South African Markets – Factors to watch on July 27

July 28, 2010 By Leave a Comment

July 27 (Reuters) – The following company announcements, scheduled economic indicators, debt and currency market moves and political events may affect South African markets on Tuesday.

- – - -

EVENTS

PRETORIA – Government auctions 1.1 billion rand of its 2018 bond ZAR204= and one billion rand of its 2020 bond ZAR207= at its weekly auction. 0900 GMT

PRETORIA – Stats SA releases Q2 2010 jobless data. 0930 GMT

- – - -

GLOBAL MARKETS

Asian stocks rose to their highest in two and a half months on Tuesday, boosted by solid U.S. housing data, while the euro inched up towards two-month peaks on relief over stress tests on European banks.

The MSCI index of Asia Pacific ex-Japan stocks .MIAPJ0000PUS was up 0.4 percent, led by gains in the technology .MIAPJIT00PUS and consumer durables .MIAPJCD00PUS sectors. [GLOB/MKTS]

SOUTH AFRICAN MARKETS

South Africa’s rand advanced to fresh 3-month highs against the dollar on Monday and domestic stocks rose on the back of higher financials. The rand broke through key technical levels in the session and was eyeing 7.25/dollar, a level it has only pierced briefly twice in the past year.

On the bourse, the JSE Top-40 index of blue chips .JTOPI edged up 0.19 percent to 25,381.47, while the broader All-Share index gained 0.26 percent to 28,499.00. [ID:nLDE66P1O1]

ANGLO PLATINUM (AMSJ.J)

Anglo Platinum, the world’s biggest producer of the precious metal, said on Monday it would lift its production by about 3 percent a year for the next 10 years to meet slowly recovering demand. [ID:nLDE66P0AF]

GOLD XAU=

Gold gained on Tuesday in a thin market driven by a firm euro and a technical rebound as prices briefly hit the 100-day moving average, while jewellery makers stayed on the sidelines after recent purchases.

Spot gold XAU= added $1.05 to $1,184.80 an ounce by 0336 GMT as dealers shrugged off a slight decline in ETF holdings. Gold had fallen nearly $8 on Monday after strong U.S. home sales data dented its safe haven appeal. [GOL/]

WALL STREET

An upbeat outlook from FedEx, coupled with encouraging home sales, lifted U.S. stocks on Monday, keeping the S&P 500 above 1,100 for a second day and suggesting the rally could last.

The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI gained 100.81 points, or 0.97 percent, to 10,525.43. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index .SPX rose 12.35 points, or 1.12 percent, to 1,115.01. The Nasdaq Composite Index .IXIC advanced 26.96 points, or 1.19 percent, to close at 2,296.43. [.N]

EMERGING MARKETS

For the top emerging markets news, double click on [nTOPEMRG]

NIGERIA

The private sector arm of the World Bank said on Monday it would provide funding that would help enable Nigerian banks to buy distressed counterparts rescued in a $4 billion central bank bailout last year. [ID:nLDE66P1RB]

- – - -

Some of the main stories out of the South African press:

BUSINESS DAY

- Rand up on better sentiment in U.S, Europe

- Kumba Iron Ore (KIOJ.J) “to offer olive branch” if it wins dispute

BUSINESS REPORT

- Dip in leading indicator fuels fear of slowdown in recovery

THE STAR

- Defence Minister Lindiwe Sisulu denies sullen soldiers pose a threat

(Reporting by Gugulakhe Lourie)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

RPT-GLOBAL MARKETS-Asian stocks rise on US data, euro inches up

July 28, 2010 By Leave a Comment

HONG KONG, July 27 (Reuters) – Asian stocks rose to their highest in two and a half months on Tuesday, boosted by solid U.S. housing data, while the euro inched up towards two-month peaks on relief over stress tests on European banks.

High-yielding currencies like the Australian and New Zealand dollars held near recent highs and the dollar stabilised after retreating against the yen on Monday.

“The environment is gradually improving, after U.S. new home sales data and European banks’ stress tests, but investors are still not entirely convinced that the recovery is solid,” said Soichiro Monji, chief strategist at Daiwa SB Investments.

“The yen has yet to weaken properly either.”

The dollar was trading just below 87 yen JPY= after falling 0.7 percent in the previous session.

The euro crawled up above key resistance of 1.30 EUR= with sentiment buoyed after the stress tests. Analysts are now eyeing a 2-month high of $1.3029 hit last week as the next test.

The MSCI index of Asia Pacific ex-Japan stocks .MIAPJ0000PUS was up 0.4 percent, led by gains in the technology .MIAPJIT00PUS and consumer durables .MIAPJCD00PUS sectors.

The index is down just 2 percent in the year to date, and could return to the black this week, although earnings from Asian corporate heavyweights hold the key to further gains.

Japan’s benchmark Nikkei .N225 edged up above 9,520, a key technical resistance, but slipped back amid worries about a firm yen hitting exporters..

Overnight, Wall Street finished higher after new home sales in June logged a surprising jump and package delivery and business services company FedEx Corp’s (FDX.N), an economic bellwether, upgraded its quarterly and full-year earnings forecasts.

Asian corporate reporting season enters its busy phase this week amid expectations of robust results for the April-June reporting period, though the picture in the months ahead looks murkier. [ID:nSGE66J00X]

Among those reporting during the day are Indian energy major Reliance Industries (RELI.BO) and Japan’s Canon Inc (7751.T) and Daiwa Securities (8601.T).

Bucking the trend, Shanghai’s composite .SSEC, already the worst performer in Asia this year, fell 0.4 percent after a report the city’s banks are facing rising default risks on loans to real estate developers. [ID:nTOE66Q003]

The mood was already jittery after a report the previous day that almost a quarter of China’s local government debt is at risk of defaulting [ID:nTOE66P032].

Shanghai’s index is down more than 21 percent in the year to date despite a six-session rising streak which has taken it to month highs.

The Aussie AUD= was trading at $0.9020 close to an 11-week peak and the kiwi NZD= hovered at $0.7344, not far from a six-month high. (Editing by Kazunori Takada)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

RPT-GLOBAL MARKETS-Asia stocks up, euro firm; stress tests eyed

July 24, 2010 By Leave a Comment

HONG KONG, July 23 (Reuters) – Asian stocks rose on Friday as strong earnings from economic bellwethers such as Caterpillar tempered concerns about a global slowdown, while the euro steadied ahead of European bank stress test results later in the day.

European stocks .FTEU3 were expected to open little changed as investors awaited the test results. Worries about the health of the region’s banks have driven up funding costs and weighed on share prices since Greece’s debt crisis triggered fears that the euro zone could unravel.

The euro EUR= jumped more than 1 percent against the dollar on Thursday to around $1.29 and European bank stocks rose across the board in a sign that investors are starting to hope the worst is behind the region’s financial industry. [ID:nTOE66M00D]

But a lack of details about the terms of the tests and earlier divisions among European Union members over how much information will be made public has made investors wonder if the assessments would be tough or transparent enough. [ID:nLDE6601T6]

Buoyed by robust U.S. earnings reports, Asian stocks outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS rose 1.6 percent despite wariness over the European tests. They looked set to post a 2.5 percent gain on the week, with Asia ex-Japan equity funds seeing strong inflows.

Japan’s Nikkei .N225 rose 2.6 percent.

“There is obviously the risk that if too many banks pass and do so with a comfortable margin, the test may be judged as too easy to have actually been informative about the strength of the banking system,” said Goldman Sachs analyst Nick Kojucharov wrote in a note.

Ironically, word of a few small failures in fiscally weaker countries such as Portugal or Spain could actually boost confidence in the vigorousness of the testing process. The results are expected around 1600 GMT, though some sources said they could be released earlier.

Analysts say the most concern is over how the banks’ holdings of European sovereign debt will be treated and whether the assumed “haircuts” or expected losses on the debt are stringent enough.

“It is very important that banks demonstrate that they have nothing to hide,” said Nomura analyst Peter Westaway in a note, adding that the most important advantage of the tests is likely to be that they will provide enough transparency to allow analysts to conduct their own stress tests on banks in future.

A positive response to the test results would like spur investors to return to riskier assets, even though the euro zone’s debt problems will take years to resolve.

However, even if most banks pass the test, analysts estimate lenders in the region will need to raise as much as 90 billion euros in fresh capital as they recover from the credit crisis and comply with new regulations, which could blunt any initial gains.

Major U.S. share indexes rose as much as 2.7 percent overnight as robust quarterly results from construction and mining equipment maker Caterpillar (CAT.N), 3M (MMM.N) and other U.S. multinationals suggested the global economy may be on stronger footing than previously thought. [ID:nN22177201]

A string of weak U.S. economic data in recent weeks and worries that Europe’s debt crisis could derail its already fragile recovery have put heavy pressure on markets, but there are signs that investors are slowly returning to riskier assets.

Emerging markets equity funds retained some of their momentum from the previous week, with Asia ex-Japan Equity Funds taking in over $800 million for the second week running, according to data from fund-tracking firm EPFR Global. [ID:nTOE66M02J]

Crude oil futures CLc1 steadied above $79 a barrel after jumping to 11-week highs overnight as a potential storm threatened production in the Gulf of Mexico.

Shanghai copper SCFc3 also rose, chasing London which climbed to near two-month peaks, spurred by a weaker dollar and positive economic data on both sides of the Atlantic. [ID:nN22249306] (Editing by Kim Coghill)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

South African Markets – Factors to watch on July 20

July 21, 2010 By Leave a Comment

July 20 (Reuters) – The following company announcements, scheduled economic indicators, debt and currency market moves and political events may affect South African markets on Tuesday.

- – - -

GLOBAL MARKETS

Asian stocks rose on Tuesday, looking past weak revenue growth at top U.S. firms and weak U.S. economic data, as shares of resource firms and banks clawed back some of their recent losses. [MKTS/GLOB]

GOLD XAU=

Gold regained strength on Tuesday as jewellery makers resurfaced after the price dropped to its weakest in nearly two months, while investors looked to movements in other markets for further cues. [GOL/]

AQUARIUS PLATINUM (AQPJ.J)

The company was reassured it will have some flexibility on how to improve safety at its mines, following a meeting with South African regulators, it said on Tuesday, a day after its shares were hammered in Australia and London. [ID:nSGE66I0KZ]

KUMBA IRON ORE (KIOJ.J)/ARCELORMITTAL (ACLJ.J)

South Africa’s government said Kumba Iron Ore (KIOJ.J) and ArcelorMittal (ACLJ.J) were committed to reaching an agreement regarding their dispute over the price of iron ore. [ID:LDE66I1YV]

AFRICA FUNDS

A 44-week streak of inflows to funds investing in emerging and frontier equities in Africa has ended while inflows to South Africa have risen, fund tracker EPFR Global said. [ID:nLDE66J02W]

MONETARY POLICY

The SARB monetary policy committee starts 2-1/2 day meeting on interest rates on Tuesday.

BOND AUCTION

South Africa will issue 1.5 billion rand of its 2017 bond ZAR203= and 600 million rand of its 2021 bond ZAR208= at its weekly debt auction.

MAIZE DATA

South African Grain Information Service (SAGIS) releases data on weekly maize imports and exports.

NIGERIA BANKS

Nigeria’s president on Monday signed into law legislation creating an asset management company to soak up bad bank loans and revive private sector lending in sub-Saharan Africa’s second biggest economy. [ID:nLDE66I1OV]

MIGRANT ATTACKS

South African residents have attacked migrants from African countries in a Johannesburg township, injuring at least five people hurt and increasing concerns of a wave of xenophobia after the soccer World Cup. [ID:nLDE66J024]

PINNACLE TECHNOLOGY (PNCJ.J)

The IT company said it would pay 170.9 million rand to buy Axiz Technology. [ID:nWEA0116]

SOUTH AFRICAN MARKETS

The South African rand weakened against the dollar on Monday after Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan said the government would allow central bank intervention in the foreign exchange market, while miners and banks dragged stocks lower. [ID:nLDE66I1UL]

WALL STREET

U.S. stocks rose on Monday, spurred by optimism ahead of earnings from key technology companies and after Dow component Boeing announced strong orders.

But shares of IBM fell nearly 4 percent after the closing bell after its revenues missed expectations, and Texas Instruments slumped 6 percent as its revenue failed to impress. [.N]

EMERGING MARKETS

For the top emerging markets news, double click on [nTOPEMRG]

- – - -

Some of the main stories out of the South African press:

BUSINESS DAY

- OECD warns SA on strong rand threat to economy

- Battle to lure diners after Cup binge

- Tough half-year will be seen in bank results

BUSINESS REPORT

- Famous Brands (FBRJ.J) outscores McDonald’s in Cup month

- Hudaco (HDCJ.J) poised for acquisition splurge (Reporting by David Dolan)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Indian shares up 0.3 pct; Reliance, L&T rise

July 21, 2010 By Leave a Comment

MUMBAI, July 20 (Reuters) – Indian shares rose 0.3 percent
on Tuesday led by gains in energy major Reliance Industries
(RELI.BO) and construction conglomerate Larsen & Toubro
(LART.BO), with mostly firmer Asian markets helping.

However, investors were cautious with a drop in U.S.
housing data showing cracks in the recovery of the world’s
largest economy.

Traders were watching foreign funds, who have moved $8.6
billion into Indian equities this year, for direction amid
concern a slower than expected global recovery could affect the
inflows.
By 11:11 a.m. (0541 GMT), the 30-share BSE index .BSESN was
trading up 0.34 percent at 17,989.12, with 19 of its components
gaining.

In the broader market, gainers were almost double the
number losers while 131 million shares changed hands.

“We are trading higher today looking at the strength in
Asian stocks,” said Kunal Sukhani, manager of institutional
equities at Asian Markets Securities.

The MSCI’s measure of Asian markets other than Japan
.MIAPJ0000PUS was up 1.3 percent, while Japan’s Nikkei
.N225 shed 1.2 percent.

<^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

For a video on Asian stocks' performance, view show:

link.reuters.com/kap48m

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The BSE index is up 3 percent so far this year on the back
of rebounding domestic economy, while most of its emerging
market peers have dropped.

Reliance Industries, which has the highest weight on the
main index .BSESN, climbed 0.6 percent to 1,062.50 rupees,
while Larsen & Toubro rose 1.1 percent to 1,912.80 rupees.

Sukhani said quarterly earnings would be the key driver for
the market in the near term.

HDFC Bank (HDBK.BO) was up 0.2 percent at 2,055.25 rupees,
a day after the private-sector lender reported its strongest
profit growth in more than a year and highlighted more gains
for the booming industry on robust loan demand. [ID:nSGE66I0EL]

“Quality of earnings continues to improve on the back of
margin expansion, loan book growth, and provisioning pressure,”
Edelweiss said in a note.

“We continue to like the bank’s attractive franchisee and
overall improvement in metrics.”

The stock is just 2.6 percent of its record high hit last
week.

Iron ore exporter Sesa Goa (SESA.BO) rose 1.6 percent after
its consolidated net profit for the June quarter trebled.
[ID:nSGE66J05M]

The share was also helped after a senior government
official told Reuters on Monday India had no plans to curb iron
ore exports. [ID:nSGE66I0EY]

Tata Steel (TISC.BO), the world’s seventh-largest producer
of the alloy, and rose non-ferrous metals producer Sterlite
Industries (STRL.BO) rose 1.1 percent each, while aluminium
maker Hindalco (HALC.BO) gained 0.9 percent.

The sector was supported by gains in regional peers. The
resources index for Asian shares other than Japan
.MIAPJMT00PUS was up nearly 2 percent.

The 50-share NSE index , or Nifty, was up 0.3
percent at 5,402.40.

“We see Nifty to be rangebound between 5,300-5,450 in the
near term due to mixed cues from overseas,” Sukhani said.

STOCKS ON THE MOVE

* MindTree (MINT.BO) shed 5.2 percent to 539 rupees after
its quarterly results disappointed investors, dealers said.
[ID:nWNBS0515]

* Cairn India (CAIL.BO), a unit of Cairn Energy (CNE.L),
was up 0.3 percent at 316.15 rupees as crude oil prices rose
toward $77 a barrel.

MAIN TOP THREE BY VOLUME

* IFCI (IFCI.BO) on 3.3 million shares

* Ramsarup Industries (RASW.BO) on 1.6 million shares

* Unitech (UNTE.BO) on 1.6 million shares

FACTORS TO WATCH
* For technical analysis double click on www.reutersindia.net
* Indian rupee report [INR/]
* Indian bond report [IN/]
* Dollar hovers near lows, eyes on Japan policymakers [FRX/]
* Oil gains towards $77 on expected U.S. inventory drop [O/R]
* Asia shares rise, yen strength in focus [MKTS/GLOB]
* Wall St up on tech, but IBM, TI fall after the bell [.N]
* For closing rates of Indian ADRs INADR

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

RPT-GLOBAL MARKETS-Asia shares rise, yen strength in focus

July 21, 2010 By Leave a Comment

HONG KONG, July 20 (Reuters) – Asian stocks rose on Tuesday, looking past weak revenue growth at top U.S. firms and more weak U.S. economic data, as shares of resource firms and banks clawed back some of their recent losses. The Japanese yen hovered near its recent 7-week high against the dollar, amid growing talk of intervention as traders wondered if Tokyo could stomach further yen gains.

The MSCI index of Asia Pacific ex-Japan stocks .MIAPJ0000PUS rose 1 percent, led by gains in resources .MIAPJMT00PUS and financials .MIAPJFN00PUS.

The Nikkei average .N225 fell as much as 1.7 percent as traders returned from a long weekend and caught up with Monday’s losses in the region.

U.S. stocks rose overnight, spurred by optimism ahead of earnings from key tech firms International Business Machines (IBM.N) and chip maker Texas Instruments (TXN.N) which were released after the closing bell.

But both firms failed to impress as their topline revenue growth disappointed markets, highlighting concerns that the global economic recovery is losing steam. [ID:nN19191611] and [ID:nN19215910].

Investors also faced yet more worrisome data from the United States. On Monday, the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market index fell more than expected in July to its lowest level since April 2009 after a popular tax credit for homebuyers expired in April. [ID:nTKB006927]

“U.S. earnings and indicators are increasing concern about a slowdown in the economy,” said Hiroichi Nishi, general manager at the equity division of Nikko Cordial Securities.

“We could definitely see a test of the downside, though not until later in the week.”

Despite the disappointing IBM and Texas Instrument results, some tech-dependant Asian markets such as Taiwan and South Korea were marginally higher as the outlook for Asian tech firms remained more upbeat.

The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) was up 0.2 percent after opening lower and Taiwan’s main TAIEX share index was up 0.5 percent.

“Big tech companies that have a wider customer bases and good product portfolios should still be doing okay in the third quarter,” said John Chiu, a vice-president at Fuh Hwa Securities Investment Trust.

JAPAN FRETS OVER YEN

The dollar was marginally higher at 86.74 yen JPY=, having hit a seven-month low of 86.25 on Friday, and the euro was steady at $1.2940, having brushed aside Moody’s downgrade of Ireland’s credit rating on Monday and concerns that negotiations between Hungary and international lenders had broken down. For details, see [ID:nLDE66I0FY] [ID:nLDE66H021].

The dollar was bid up by Japanese importers, but was still within striking distance of a seven-month low versus the yen leading many market players to look to what authorities in Japan would do if the yen climbed to the 85 level.

The market was looking to a press conference by Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda for clues on Japanese policymakers’ pain threshold.

Japan’s fragile economic recovery has been largely due to surging exports, offsetting persistently weak domestic demand, and further yen gains threaten to erode its export competitiveness.

Hong Kong’s benchmark Hang Seng index .HSI was up 1 percent, boosted by banks which rose after China changed rules to allow the sale of yuan-denominated financial products in Hong Kong, giving companies greater access to yuan funding. [ID:nTOE66I02Q]

Standard Chartered Plc (STAN.L)(2888.HK), which immediately announced it would offer yuan-denominated structured investments to its retail and wholesale clients, rose 1.4 percent and BOC Hong Kong (Holdings) (2388.HK) was up 1.7 percent.

Oil futures CLc1 rose about 25 cents towards $77 a barrel, supporting shares of energy companies, as forecasts for a fourth consecutive weekly drop in U.S. crude inventories countered fears that a slowdown in the global recovery would curb fuel demand. [O/R] (Additional reporting by Elaine Lies in TOKYO and Baker Li in TAIPEI) (Editing by Kim Coghill)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

South African Markets – Factors to watch on July 9

July 10, 2010 By Leave a Comment

July 9 (Reuters) – The following company announcements, scheduled economic indicators, debt and currency market moves and political events may affect South African markets on Friday.

- – - -

GLOBAL MARKETS

Asian stocks rallied for a second day and the euro held near two-month highs on Friday, supported on positive U.S. data and after the European Central Bank’s offered upbeat view of the euro zone’s recovery.

The MSCI index of Asia Pacific ex-Japan stocks .MIAPJ0000PUS rose 0.9 percent, on track for its biggest weekly gain in seven months, with the consumer durables .MIAPJCD00PUS and energy sectors .MIAPJEN00PUS outperforming. [MKTS/GLOB]

SOUTH AFRICAN MARKETS

South Africa’s rand firmed against the dollar and local stocks climbed on Thursday as investors favoured higher risk assets on improved prospects for a global economic recovery and bullish U.S. company earnings.

The JSE Top-40 index of blue chips .JTOPI rose 0.77 percent to 24,070.74 points, while the broader All-Share index also increased by 0.77 percent to 27,061.19 points, its highest level in over a week. [ID:nLDE6671MM]

SOUTH AFRICAN COAL

Chinese utilities on the south west coast are still actively seeking South African and Colombian prompt coal cargoes despite ramping up imports during June, producers and traders said.

Falling freight rates to under $16 a tonne from South Africa’s Richards Bay to Chinese ports have made South African coal a competitive import into China again, they said. [ID:nLDE6671N0]

SOUTH AFRICAN ECONOMY

South Africa’s manufacturing output growth slowed year-on-year in May, adding to recent data that suggests the pace of economic recovery after last year’s recession is losing some steam.

Statistics South Africa said factory production rose by 7.9 percent year-on-year in volume terms in May, slowing from a downwardly revised 8.6 percent in April and below Reuters poll forecasts of 8.4 percent. [ID:nLDE66714R]

NEDBANK (NEDJ.J)

HSBC Holdings (HSBA.L) may bid for South Africa’s Nedbank, Sky News reported, a potential $4.4 billion deal that would give Europe’s largest bank a bigger profile in fast-growing Africa. [ID:nLDE66709H]

GOLD XAU=

Gold edged up to near $1,200 an ounce on Friday as bargain buying helped offset selling from speculators, who had shifted some of their money to equities on hopes of an economic recovery.

Spot gold XAU= added $2.27 to $1,198.75 an ounce by 0327 GMT, well below a lifetime high above $1,264 struck in late June on worries that the debt crisis in Europe could spread and the U.S. economy was slowing. [GOL/]

WALL STREET

Wall Street rose for a third straight day on Thursday as investors were encouraged to see jobless claims fall and a handful of large retailers report solid sales.

The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI was up 120.71 points, or 1.20 percent, at 10,138.99. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index .SPX was up 9.98 points, or 0.94 percent, at 1,070.25. The Nasdaq Composite Index .IXIC was up 15.93 points, or 0.74 percent, at 2,175.40.[.N]

EMERGING MARKETS

For the top emerging markets news, double click on [nTOPEMRG]

AFRICA TRADE

Brazil’s Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva winds up his final presidential tour of Africa with a clutch of deals after dramatically expanding ties during eight years in power.

Lula has worked hard to increase trade with other emerging economies as they play an ever greater global role and has taken advantage of Brazil’s strong cultural links with Africa. He has visited more than 25 African countries, six on this trip. [ID:nLDE6671Q4]

ZAMBIA

Brazilian firm Vale (VALE5.SA) plans to invest $400 million in Zambia’s Konkola North copper project, expected to start producing copper by 2013, Executive Director Eduardo Ledsham said on Thursday. [ID:nLDE6671GV]

- – - -

Some of the main stories out of the South African press:

BUSINESS DAY

- IMF forecast for South Africa growth is higher than the Treasury’s

- South African Airways CEO Mzimela prepares to wield axe at SAA

BUSINESS REPORT

- M&As take a back seat but value of the few deals rises

THE STAR

- Top hotels in Johannesburg, Pretoria fully booked

(Reporting by Gugulakhe Lourie)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Europe equities seen tracking Asian stocks higher

July 7, 2010 By Leave a Comment

July 6 (Reuters) – European stock index futures pointed to gains on Tuesday, tracking a rise in Asian markets, with Japan’s Nikkei .N225 rebounding off seven month lows to close higher.

By 0608 GMT, futures for the STOXX Europe 50 STXEc1 was up 0.5 percent, Germany’s DAX futures FDXc1 added 0.5 percent and France’s CAC FCEc1 futures gained 0.4 percent.

European shares fell to their lowest close in nearly six weeks on Monday, on thin volumes as Wall Street was closed for the Independence Day holiday.

(Reporting by Harpreet Bhal)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

South African Markets – Factors to watch on July 6

July 7, 2010 By Leave a Comment

July 6 (Reuters) – The following company announcements, scheduled economic indicators, debt and currency market moves and political events may affect South African markets on Tuesday.

- – - -

EVENTS

PRETORIA – Government auctions 1.3 billion rand of its 2018 bond ZAR204= and 800 million rand of its 2036 bond ZAR209= at its weekly auction.

GLOBAL MARKETS

Asian stocks slipped on Tuesday on growing investor concerns of slower economic growth in the United States and China, the main pillars of the world economy, and fading risk appetite sent the yen up against the dollar and the euro.

The MSCI index of Asia Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS was down 0.5 percent, after earlier touching its lowest in a month, particularly weighed down by falls in shares of materials and information technology firms. [MKTS/GLOB]

SOUTH AFRICAN MARKETS

South Africa’s rand was a touch firmer against the dollar in dull Monday trade, finding little impetus to break out of a narrow range, while stocks ticked down as investors treaded cautiously on concerns about the global economy.

The bourse’s blue-chip Top-40 index .JTOPI slipped 0.56 percent to 23,223.87 points, while the broader All-Share index lost 0.5 percent to 26,182.67 points. [ID:nLDE6641KK]

ASPEN (APNJ.J)

Australian drug maker Sigma Pharmaceuticals (SIP.AX) said on Tuesday its suitor, South Africa’s Aspen Pharmacare, had not made a formal offer for the firm but wanted to continue due diligence. [ID:nSGE6640I4]

SASOL (SOLJ.J)

South Africa’s Competition Commission said on Monday it had settled a case of excessive pricing and abuse of market dominance by Sasol, which the government said could help reduce fertiliser prices. [ID:nLDE66414F]

GOLD XAU=

Gold relinquished early gains on Tuesday as the U.S. dollar firmed against the euro and stock markets dropped on concerns about economic slowdowns in the U.S.

Gold XAU= fell $1.17 to $1,205.78 an ounce by 0248 GMT, having hit a high around $1,209. Gold slipped 3.4 percent last week, moving away from the record $1,264.90 hit in June, as risk aversion linked to fears over a debt crisis in Europe subsided. [GOL/]

WALL STREET

U.S. stocks fell on Friday to close out their worst week in two months as disappointing jobs data joined other recent evidence pointing to a tepid economic recovery.

The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI dropped 46.05 points, or 0.47 percent, to 9,686.48. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index .SPX lost 4.79 points, or 0.47 percent, to 1,022.58. The Nasdaq Composite Index .IXIC fell 9.57 points, or 0.46 percent, to 2,091.79. [.N]

EMERGING MARKETS

For the top emerging markets news, double click on [nTOPEMRG]

- – - -

Some of the main stories out of the South African press:

BUSINESS DAY

- Gupta Group to fund “African National Congress-sympathetic” newspaper

- Concerns about Anglo American (AGLJ.J) CEO Carroll chairing Angloplat (AMSJ.J)

BUSINESS REPORT

- Eskom faces bleak future if blackmail is repeated

THE STAR

- Bank robbery kept secret

- President Jacob Zuma culls his staff in bid to end tensions

(Reporting by Gugulakhe Lourie)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

UPDATE 2-KBC sells Asian derivatives unit for $1 bln

July 6, 2010 By Leave a Comment

BRUSSELS/TOKYO, July 5 (Reuters) – Belgian banking and insurance group KBC (KBC.BR) sold its Asian derivatives unit for around $1 billion, as part of the restructuring it promised in return for state aid during the financial crisis.

KBC also said on Monday it sold a Brussels-based reinsurance unit for 267 million euros ($358.2 million).

The Belgian group sold its Global Convertible Bond and Asian Equity Derivatives businesses to Daiwa Capital Markets, the investment banking unit of Daiwa Securities Group (8601.T)

The deal will release approximately $200 million in capital, resulting in an increase in its tier-1 ratio of 10 basis points, KBC said.

KBC, which received 7 billion euros ($9.39 billion) of state support during the crisis, has agreed with the European Commission to reduce its risk-weighted assets by 39 billion euros between 2008 and 2013, mainly through reducing its capital market activities and international corporate lending.

Daiwa’s purchase of some of KBC’s operations comes as the Japanese brokerage is trying to expand its Asian operations. After it cut its investment banking alliance with Japanese bank Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (8316.T), Daiwa has shifted its focus on Asia to tap growth in the region.

The company recently said it would double its research business for Asian stocks in the next two years and will keep hiring bankers from rivals.

REINSURANCE SALE

KBC also said on Monday that it has sold its Brussels-based reinsurance company Secura NV to Australia’s top insurer by premium income, QBE Insurance Group (QBE.AX), for 267 million euros plus gains to be realised on the investment portfolio and earnings for the year 2010 until completion.

Australia’s QBE, which made over 75 acquisitions in the last 10 years to spread to 47 countries, has said growth in its existing businesses in the developed world would be low but was in talks for takeovers in Europe, the U.S., Latin America and Australia.

In May KBC raised 1.35 billion euros in what was its biggest divestment to date under the restructuring plan by selling its private banking arm KBL European Private Bankers to Indian family-owned investment firm Hinduja Group. [ID:nLDE64K05X]

KBC closed down its Japanese operations in March and BNP Paribas (BNPP.PA) hired equity analysts, traders and sales people from KBC’s Tokyo office.

By 0824 GMT KBC shares were down 1 percent compared with a 0.3 percent drop in the STOXX Europe 600 banking index .SX7P ($1=.7453 euro) (By Ben Deighton in Brussels, Junko Fujita in Tokyo and Narayanan Somasundara in Sydney; Editing by Erica Billingham)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

EURO GOVT-Bunds up on weak Chinese data, Spain eyed

July 2, 2010 By Leave a Comment

July 1 (Reuters) – German Bund futures opened higher on Thursday with weak Chinese data adding to global growth fears and euro zone sovereign debt worries in focus after rating agency Moody’s placed Spain’s Aaa rating on review for a cut. Signs that economic growth in China was slowing saw U.S. government debt rally and equities fall sharply in Asian trading as investors sought out safe-haven assets.

“The weak Chinese PMIs have weighed on Asian stocks… risk assets are going to be under pressure early on,” said a trader in London.

At 0610 GMT, the Bund future FGBLc1 was 19 ticks higher at 129.57. The 10-year German bond yield DE10YT=TWEB was at 2.557 percent, down 2.5 basis points while the two-year Schatz yield DE2YT=TWEB was flat at 0.607 percent.

Moody’s Investors Service said late on Wednesday that it may cut Spain’s triple-A local and foreign currency government bond ratings after a three-month review. Ratings agency Fitch cut Spain’s triple-A credit rating to AA-plus in late May.

Spain will issue up to 3.5 billion euros of bonds later in the session.

“Today’s auction of the SPGB 3 percent April 15 may well turn out as a very important yardstick regarding how comfortable the investor community is with the outlook for Spain,” said Commerzbank analysts in a note.

The 10-year Spanish bond yield spread over German bunds had narrowed in the previous session after a lower-than-expected take up of European Central bank funds had soothed some worries over banks’ reliance on ECB funding.

Emergency 12-month loans worth 442 billion euros will be repaid to the ECB, while the central bank will offer banks a further opportunity to borrow funds at a six-day tender later in the session.

The result of the six-day tender will give a clearer picture of the excess liquidity within the euro system after money market rates rose in anticipation of a liquidity squeeze after Wednesday’s low borrowing.

The EONIA overnight unsecured lending rate EONIA= jumped to 0.542 percent at its daily fixing, up from 0.325 percent on Tuesday. (Reporting by William James)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Indian shares drop 1.1 pct; Maruti falls, Fortis up

July 2, 2010 By Leave a Comment

MUMBAI, July 1 (Reuters) – Indian shares got off to a shaky start to the new quarter, falling 1.1 percent on Thursday as doubts resurfaced about the global economic recovery and a slower manufacturing growth at home.

A survey showed Indian manufacturing growth cooled in June from a surge in activity the prior month, mainly due to slowing production and rapidly easing input price pressures. [ID:nBMA007940]

Leading car maker Maruti Suzuki (MRTI.BO) fell as much as 3.1 percent after sales growth in June slowed from the previous month, partly due to a 6-day shutdown of its plants for maintenance work. [ID:nSGE660080]

Asian stocks dropped as manufacturing data showed China’s rapid economic growth was slowing and as fresh worries about Europe’s fiscal health hit risk appetite.

“The scene is not looking good in the near term. We have some or the other bad news coming in from Europe every other day,” said Kunal Sukhani, manager of institutional equities at brokerage Asian Markets Securities.

Shares in Fortis Healthcare (FOHE.BO) swung widely after the company launched a bid valuing Singapore hospital operator Parkway Holdings (PARM.SI) at $3.1 billion, topping a bid by rival suitor Malaysian state fund Khazanah. [ID:nSGE66002F]

By 11:17 a.m. (0547 GMT), the 30-share BSE index .BSESN was trading down 1.07 percent at 17,512.18, with 27 of its components declining.

Fortis was trading 1.5 percent higher after falling as much as 3.4 percent.

Financials dropped ahead of food and fuel price data due around 0630 GMT.

Top lender State Bank of India (SBI.BO) was down 1.1 percent while rivals ICICI Bank (ICBK.BO) and HDFC Bank (HDBK.BO) dropped 2.4 percent and 0.7 percent respectively.

In the broader market, gainers and losers were almost equal in number on volume of 169 million shares.

The 50-share NSE index was down 1.2 percent at 5,250.25.

The BSE index rose 4.5 percent in June, posting its best monthly gain since March. The rise was powered by foreign funds who pumped in $2.1 billion June 1-29, reversing withdrawal of $2 billion in May when the benchmark fell 3.5 percent.

For April-June, the index rose 1 percent, climbing for the sixth straight quarter in its longest run in at least 20 years.

STOCKS ON THE MOVE

* TVS Motor Co (TVSM.BO) was up 1.6 percent at 121.15 rupees as June two-wheeler sales of the No. 3 motorcycle maker rose 36 percent from the same period a year earlier. [ID:nBMB010904]

* Drug maker Parabolic Drugs (PARB.BO) (PARB.NS) debuted on the BSE at 76.8 rupees, up 2.4 percent from its issue price of 75 rupees. [ID:nSGE660056]

The stock erased all gains and was trading lower at 66.95 rupees.

MAIN TOP 3 BY VOLUME

* Redington (REDI.BO) on 11.5 million shares

* IFCI (IFCI.BO) on 6.4 million shares

* Parabolic Drugs on 3.9 million shares

FACTORS TO WATCH * For technical analysis double click on www.reutersindia.net * Indian rupee report [INR/] * Indian bond report [IN/] * Euro hits record low vs Swiss franc, Aussie down [FRX/] * Oil tumbles 4th day on China economic growth worries [O/R] * Stocks, commodities fall on China slowdown [MKTS/GLOB] * Wall St tumbles to worst quarter since Lehman fall [.N] * For closing rates of Indian ADRs INADR (Reporting by Ami Shah; Editing by Ranjit Gangadharan)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

RPT-GLOBAL MARKETS-Asia shares slip; debt puts euro on defensive

July 1, 2010 By Leave a Comment

SINGAPORE, June 29 (Reuters) – Asian stocks fell on Tuesday and were on course for their worst quarterly performance since the end of 2008, while funding concerns in the euro zone sent the single currency tumbling to a record low against the Swiss franc.

The tepid nature of the rich world’s recovery from global recession kept investors on the defensive, with a general flight to relative safe havens prompting a rebound for gold and falls in U.S. and Japanese government debt yields to multi-month lows.

European shares were also expected to fall, with financial bookmakers forecasting the benchmark indexes in Britain, France and Germany to open down 0.8-1.2 percent. Eurostoxx 50 Futures STXEc1 slid 1.7 percent. [.L]

Chinese stocks .SSEC fell 4 percent to a 14-month low, as investors started pulling funds from the market to prepare for a major initial public offering by Agricultural Bank of China, pointing to tight liquidity in China’s markets. [.SS]

“The market is still facing financing pressures and we are still worried about the domestic economy,” said Zheng Weigang, an analyst at Shanghai Securities.

Tokyo’s Nikkei .N225 fell 1.3 percent to a three-week closing low and MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 1.6 percent.

The Nikkei has fallen around 14 percent in the second quarter and the MSCI AP ex-Japan is down roughly 8 percent, putting both on track for their worst quarterly performance since the meltdown in the final months of 2008 following the collapse of Lehman Brothers.

World stock markets rebounded strongly in 2009, but investors are now fretting about the uncertainty of the outlook as governments — many facing ballooning debt burdens — start to turn off the stimulus that supported the fledgling recovery.

EURO WOES

The euro fell around 1 percent against the yen EURJPY=R, dragged down by losses against the Swiss franc. It fell 0.2 percent on the day to touch 1.3323 francs EURCHF= on trading platform EBS, the weakest since its launch in 1999.

The pair has now lost 4 percent since June 17, when the Swiss central bank backed off from a pledge to fight excessive appreciation in the franc.

Traders in Asia said investors were wary of growth-linked currencies and the euro amid festering problems in the euro zone, where funding pressures re-emerged with interbank lending rates hitting their highest in almost seven months on Monday.

Banks must repay 442 billion euros ($545.5 billion) to the European Central Bank on Thursday, leaving a potential liquidity shortfall in the financial system of more than 100 billion euros. [ID:nLDE65R0LE]

The premium investors demand to hold 10-year Italian, French and Spanish government bonds, rather than euro zone benchmark German Bunds, all widened.

“Renewed debt stress stories…have weighed a bit on the euro and led to renewed safe-haven parking in the yen and Swiss franc,” said dealer at a Swiss bank.

“Investors’ sentiment towards peripheral Europe remains cautious and fragile to say the least.”

The search for safer assets pushed the U.S. benchmark 10-year yield US10YT=RR to its lowest since April 2009, while the benchmark Japanese Government Bond 10-year yield JP10YTN=JBTC fell to a seven-year low. [JP/] [US/T]

Concerns about Europe’s debt burden contributed to a rebound for gold XAU=, with spot prices for the safe-haven metal rising more than $3 to $1,239.20 an ounce. [GOL/]

“Gold is likely to remain pretty well supported in the current quarter. Safe-haven demand for gold remains prominent,” said David Moore, a commodity strategist at Commonwealth Bank of Australia in Sydney.

The euro’s weakness — and consequent relative dollar strength — also contributed to falling in oil prices, making dollar-denominated crude more expensive for buyers in Europe and Asia.

Oil CLc1 fell nearly 1 percent to $77.53 a barrel, as forecasts indicated Tropical Storm Alex was likely to skirt the main production region in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico. [O/R]

“Markets are concerned that European banks are pressed to pay 442 billion euros. If these worries sustain and the euro falls, a stronger dollar would pressure oil prices down,” said Serene Lim, a Singapore-based oil analyst at ANZ Bank. (To read Reuters Global Investing Blog click here; for the MacroScope Blog click on blogs.reuters.com/macroscope; for Hedge Fund Blog Hub click on blogs.reuters.com/hedgehub)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

South African Markets – Factors to watch on June 29

July 1, 2010 By Leave a Comment

June 29 (Reuters) – The following company announcements, scheduled economic indicators, debt and currency market moves and political events may affect South African markets on Tuesday

- – - -

GLOBAL MARKETS

Asian stocks were on course on Tuesday for their worst quarterly performance since the end of 2008, as the tepid nature of rich world’s recovery from global recession keeps investors on the defensive. [MKTS/GLOB]

VODACOM (VODJ.J)

The mobile-phone operator has lost at least 600 million rand ($79.2 million) since South Africa’s telecoms regulator in March lowered the fee that wireless operators can charge each other for using their networks, Business Day reported.

ESKOM [ESCJ.UL]

Unions at power utility Eskom have set a Tuesday deadline for the group to come up with an improved wage offer or face possible strike action. Analysts expect a last-minute deal could avert further labour action.

NASPERS LTD NPNJN.J

Africa’s largest media company is due to release full-year earnings. The company said this month it expects earnings to fall by up to 50 percent from the previous year, when results were boosted by the profits from the sale of a Greek unit.

However, it said it expects core headline earnings, which exclude non-recurring items, to rise by as much as 25 percent.

SIMMER & JACK (SIMJ.J)

The miner said its full-year revenue fell 14 percent.

SOUTH AFRICAN MARKETS

South Africa’s rand ended firmer against the dollar on Monday and local stocks ended slightly higher, both supported by a strong gold price.

Johannesburg’s blue-chip Top-40 index .JTOPI ticked up 0.18 percent to 24,308.52 points and the broader All-Share index gave up 0.12 percent to 27,289.72 points. [.J]

GOLD XAU=

Gold bounced on bargain hunting on Tuesday, with sentiment still underpinned by Europe’s debt crisis and record high ETF holdings, although it struggled to revisit last week’s all-time high.

Spot gold XAU= rose $2.55 to $1,238.60 an ounce, having risen as high as $1,262.45 on an ounce on Monday. [GOL/]

WALL STREET

U.S. stocks ended slightly lower on Monday as gains in consumer-related stocks, including tobacco shares, were offset by losses in the energy sector. [.N]

EMERGING MARKETS

For the top emerging markets news, double click on [nTOPEMRG]

- – - -

Some of the main stories out of the South African press:

BUSINESS DAY

- Botswana’s Khama faces rare dissent

- Liquidations show strain in private sector

- COPE leaders at odds over party finances

BUSINESS REPORT

- Call to wean continent off aid

- Africa set to be major global player

THE STAR

- Burglars hit Mbalula (Reporting by David Dolan; Editing by Marius Bosch)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Euro extends drops vs yen on funding jitters

June 30, 2010 By Leave a Comment

June 29 (Reuters) – The euro extended losses against the yen on Tuesday as funding concerns in the euro zone and a fall in Asian stocks prompted investors to sell the single European currency, while Japanese exporters repatriated their overseas profits before the second quarter ends.

The euro was down 0.9 percent at 108.73 yen EURJPY=R after dropping as low as 108.62 yen, its lowest in three weeks. (Reporting by Rika Otsuka)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

RPT-GLOBAL MARKETS-Asian stocks steady, dollar down after Fed

June 25, 2010 By Leave a Comment

HONG KONG, June 24 (Reuters) – Asian stocks mostly steadied while the dollar eased on Thursday amid concerns over the global outlook after the Federal Reserve said the economic recovery was faltering.

European shares are expected to open firmer after two consecutive sessions of losses, with futures for the STOXX Europe 50 STXEc1, Germany’s DAX FDXc1 and France’s CAC 40 FCEc1 gaining as much as 0.7 percent.

In Asia, South Korean shares outperformed its regional peers and rose 0.8 percent while Australian miners gained after the ruling party chose a new leader, spurring hopes that the government would compromise on a controversial mining tax. [ID:nSGE65N003]

But other markets were mostly steady to weaker, with the MSCI index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS up just 0.2 percent.

“It’s not as if investor sentiment has worsened dramatically, but gains look limited as there’s uncertainty about the outlook for the global economy,” said Yutaka Miura, a senior technical analyst at Mizuho Securities.

Japan’s Nikkei .N225 ended flat as a key support level held.

The euro EUR= and sterling GBP= rose but investors remained reluctant to chase them higher as sings of fragile economic recovery tempered appetite for risky positions.

Oil prices steadied, stabilising after two days of losses under the influence of modest gains in regional equities and dovish comments from the U.S. Federal Reserve. [ID:nSGE65N03H]

STOCK RALLY FIZZLES

South Korea’s KOSPI rose 0.8 percent as the government lifted its 2010 growth forecast to 5.8 percent from 5 percent and announced a gradual return of economic policy to pre-crisis settings. [ID:nTOE65N03N]

Global miners BHP Billiton (BHP.AX) and Rio Tinto (RIO.AX) rose around 1.5 percent, encouraged by new Prime Minister Julia Gillard’s comments seeking negotiations with the miners over the tax. [ID:nSGE65N003] Fortescue Metals Group (FMG.AX) rose 2.5 percent.

Asian stocks are on track to post their first quarterly decline in over a year as fears of the euro zone debt crisis derailing a global economic recovery prompted a sharp selloff in risky assets.

The MSCI index of Asia Pacific shares outside Japan is down 5.5 percent this quarter versus a 6.6 percent decline in the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index .SPX over the same period.

The heightened volatility across financial markets in May spooked investors who have remained largely on the sidelines keeping stock exchange volumes lethargic.

Optimism over China’s move to allow the yuan to be more flexible quickly dissipated after the move failed to ignite a sustained rally in risky assets as realisation set in that any appreciation in the yuan would be slow at best.

Barring unexpected events, the markets’ focus for the second half of the year looks set to be firmly on policy around exit strategies from the global financial crisis, Alastair Newton of Nomura said in a note. (Additional reporting by Aiko Hayashi in Tokyo; Editing by Kazunori Takada)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

South African Markets – Factors to watch on June 24

June 25, 2010 By Leave a Comment

June 24 (Reuters) – The following company announcements, scheduled economic indicators, debt and currency market moves and political events may affect South African markets on Thursday.

- – - -

EVENTS

PRETORIA – South African Reserve Bank’s quarterly bulletin. 0900 GMT

PRETORIA – Statistics South Africa releases producer inflation data for May. 0930 GMT

PRETORIA – South Africa’s Crop Estimates Committee releases summer crops 5th production forecast.

LUSAKA – Zambia’s Central Statistical Office releases June inflation data. 0830 GMT

GLOBAL MARKETS

Asian stocks firmed on Thursday, lifted by gain in miners on expectations Australia’s government would compromise on a controversial mining tax, while the U.S. dollar eased after the Federal Reserve said the economic recovery was faltering. [MKTS/GLOB]

SOUTH AFRICAN MARKETS

South African stocks fell to an 8-day low on Wednesday on fears a global economic recovery will be slow, and the rand gave up earlier gains on the dollar after inflation data which left the door open for an interest rate cut next month. [.J]

ADCOCK INGRAM AIPJ.J – will team up with Germany’s Merck Group

AVUSA (AVUJ.J) – posted a 38 percent decline in full year headline earnings per share and said it expects benefits from recovering economy. [ID:nWEA7342]

SASOL (SOLJ.J) – said operting profit improved further in the third quarter of its financial year. [ID:nWEA7357]

GOLD XAU=

Gold was flat to slightly firmer on Thursday as the Federal Reserve’s vow to keep interest rates low and uncertainty over the global economy underpinned investor appetite. [GOL/]

WALL STREET

U.S. stocks mostly fell in a volatile session on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve downgraded its assessment of the economic recovery as it vowed to keep cheap money flowing. [.N]

EMERGING MARKETS

For the top emerging markets news, double click on [nTOPEMRG]

- – - -

Some of the main stories out of the South African press:

BUSINESS DAY

- Policy confusion threatens food security – Ackerman

- Gordham moots “new thinking” on jobs, growth

- Hotel sector’s low end pulls in World Cup fans

BUSINESS REPORT

- Nxasana to fly SAfrica flag high at G20

THE STAR

- Royal match for Charlene (Reporting by David Dolan)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Nikkei slips off 1-month highs on profit-taking

June 23, 2010 By Leave a Comment

(Reuters) – Japan’s Nikkei average slipped 1.2 percent on Tuesday as profit-taking emerged after a bounce to a one-month high the day before and foreign investors turned sellers.

Japan

Analysts said the market took a breather after recent rises, including last week’s gain of 3 percent, the best weekly performance in three months, as well as Monday’s surge, but that its essential upward trend looked unchanged.

The benchmark fell below a chart retracement level with euphoria over the yuan’s rise ebbing, but many saw support intact at around 9,800, the Nikkei’s 25-day moving average.

“Sentiment overall appears to have turned rather positive, now that it appears the euro may have bottomed out, and this can lead the market suddenly and sharply higher, the way we saw yesterday on the yuan news,” said Hideyuki Ishiguro, a strategist at Okasan Securities.

In light trade, the benchmark Nikkei .N225 fell 125.12 points to 10,112.89, below a 38.2 percent retracement at 10,155 of the fall from its April high of 11,408.17 to its June low of 9,378.23.

The broader Topix shed 0.9 percent to 894.56.

Some analysts said that the Nikkei needed to consolidate above 10,200, which falls a bit below the level of its 50-week moving average, to resume rising again.

“Breaking above this is extremely important, but we need a bit more market energy and volume to do so,” said Koichi Ogawa, chief portfolio manager at Daiwa SB Investments.

“But today we’re seeing a lot of foreign selling. There’s no follow-through from yesterday.”

European investors were short-covering Nikkei futures on Monday, lifting the cash market as well, analysts said.

The yuan spot exchange rate on Monday rose to its highest since July 2005, sending Asian stocks to a five-week high on hopes for greater Chinese buying power.

But the euphoria faded later in the day, with Wall Street dipping, leaving the Nikkei — which market players said had risen mainly on short-covering in thin volume — vulnerable.

On Tuesday, China’s central bank set the yuan’s daily mid-point at the highest level since its revaluation in July 2005. But the Nikkei shrugged it off.

The Nikkei’s relative strength index (RSI) slipped to 54 after rising close to 60 on Monday, but its MACD continued to climb and few in the market thought any serious falls were in the offing.

“The market was boosted mostly by short-squeezing yesterday, with only some investors who grew optimistic about China’s economic outlook taking long positions,” said Hiroaki Kuramochi, chief equity marketing officer at Tokai Tokyo Securities.

“More gains now look fairly limited, also due to worries about the euro zone after news about BNP Paribas and Spanish banks.”

Ratings agency Fitch on Monday cut French bank BNP Paribas’ long-term international rating to AA- from AA, citing reliance on capital markets for a large part of its profits and a deterioration of asset quality in 2009.

Standard and Poor’s Rating Services also said on Monday it had raised its estimates for loan losses for Spain’s banking sector between 2009 and 2011 due to the faster depreciation of real estate assets on banks’ books.

EXPORTERS WEIGH

Shares of exporters ran out of steam and slid after helping lift the Nikkei on Monday.

Canon Inc (7751.T) fell 2.7 percent to 3,780 yen and Tokyo Electron Ltd (8035.T) dropped 3.6 percent to 5,620 yen. TDK Corp (6762.T) lost 2.3 percent to 5,430 yen.

Denso Corp (6902.T), a car parts maker affiliated with Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T), declined 1.8 percent to 2,622 yen after saying its joint venture plant in Guangzhou, China has halted production since Monday morning due to a labor strike.

The plant, Denso (Guangzhou Nansha) Co Ltd, has also halted supply of its fuel injection equipment and other products to Toyota, Honda Motor Co (7267.T) and other carmaker clients since Monday, Denso spokeswoman Yoko Suga said.

Tokyo Electric Power Co (9501.T), Asia’s biggest electric power company, edged up 0.1 percent to 2,431 yen after the Nikkei business daily reported that it is considering investing “tens of billions of yen” in a coal-fired power plant planned by Vietnam Oil and Gas Corp (Petro Vietnam). The plant is expected to start operations in the mid-2010s.

Trade was thin on the Tokyo exchange’s first section, with 1.7 billion shares changing hands, though that was up from last week’s four-month low just below 1.5 billion.

Declining shares outnumbered advancing ones, 987 to 529. (Editing by Joseph Radford)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Nikkei slips off 1-mth highs on profit-taking

June 23, 2010 By Leave a Comment

TOKYO, June 22 (Reuters) – Japan’s Nikkei average slipped 1.2 percent on Tuesday as profit-taking emerged after a bounce to a one-month high the day before and foreign investors turned sellers.

Analysts said the market took a breather after recent rises, including last week’s gain of 3 percent, the best weekly performance in three months, as well as Monday’s surge, but that its essential upward trend looked unchanged.

The benchmark fell below a chart retracement level with euphoria over the yuan’s rise ebbing, but many saw support intact at around 9,800, the Nikkei’s 25-day moving average.

“Sentiment overall appears to have turned rather positive, now that it appears the euro may have bottomed out, and this can lead the market suddenly and sharply higher, the way we saw yesterday on the yuan news,” said Hideyuki Ishiguro, a strategist at Okasan Securities.

In light trade, the benchmark Nikkei .N225 fell 125.12 points to 10,112.89, below a 38.2 percent retracement at 10,155 of the fall from its April high of 11,408.17 to its June low of 9,378.23.

The broader Topix shed 0.9 percent to 894.56.

Some analysts said that the Nikkei needed to consolidate above 10,200, which falls a bit below the level of its 50-week moving average, to resume rising again.

“Breaking above this is extremely important, but we need a bit more market energy and volume to do so,” said Koichi Ogawa, chief portfolio manager at Daiwa SB Investments.

“But today we’re seeing a lot of foreign selling. There’s no follow-through from yesterday.”

European investors were short-covering Nikkei futures on Monday, lifting the cash market as well, analysts said.

The yuan spot exchange rate on Monday rose to its highest since July 2005, sending Asian stocks to a five-week high on hopes for greater Chinese buying power.

But the euphoria faded later in the day, with Wall Street dipping, leaving the Nikkei — which market players said had risen mainly on short-covering in thin volume — vulnerable.

On Tuesday, China’s central bank set the yuan’s daily mid-point CNY=SAEC at the highest level since its revaluation in July 2005 [ID:nECB000553]. But the Nikkei shrugged it off.

The Nikkei’s relative strength index (RSI) slipped to 54 after rising close to 60 on Monday, but its MACD continued to climb and few in the market thought any serious falls were in the offing.

“The market was boosted mostly by short-squeezing yesterday, with only some investors who grew optimistic about China’s economic outlook taking long positions,” said Hiroaki Kuramochi, chief equity marketing officer at Tokai Tokyo Securities.

“More gains now look fairly limited, also due to worries about the the euro zone after news about BNP Paribas and Spanish banks.”

Ratings agency Fitch on Monday cut French bank BNP Paribas’ long-term international rating to AA- from AA, citing reliance on capital markets for a large part of its profits and a deterioration of asset quality in 2009. [ID:nN21250262]

Standard and Poor’s Rating Services also said on Monday it had raised its estimates for loan losses for Spain’s banking sector between 2009 and 2011 due to the faster depreciation of real estate assets on banks’ books. [ID:nLDE65K1TE]

EXPORTERS WEIGH

Shares of exporters ran out of steam and slid after helping lift the Nikkei on Monday.

Canon Inc (7751.T) fell 2.7 percent to 3,780 yen and Tokyo Electron Ltd (8035.T) dropped 3.6 percent to 5,620 yen. TDK Corp (6762.T) lost 2.3 percent to 5,430 yen.

Denso Corp (6902.T), a car parts maker affiliated with Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T), declined 1.8 percent to 2,622 yen after saying its joint venture plant in Guangzhou, China has halted production since Monday morning due to a labour strike.

The plant, Denso (Guangzhou Nansha) Co Ltd, has also halted supply of its fuel injection equipment and other products to Toyota, Honda Motor Co (7267.T) and other carmaker clients since Monday, Denso spokeswoman Yoko Suga said. [ID:nTFA006678]

Tokyo Electric Power Co (9501.T), Asia’s biggest electric power company, edged up 0.1 percent to 2,431 yen after the Nikkei business daily reported that it is considering investing “tens of billions of yen” in a coal-fired power plant planned by Vietnam Oil and Gas Corp (Petro Vietnam). The plant is expected to start operations in the mid-2010s. [ID:nSGE65K0JA]

Trade was thin on the Tokyo exchange’s first section, with 1.7 billion shares changing hands, though that was up from last week’s four-month low just below 1.5 billion.

Declining shares outnumbered advancing ones, 987 to 529. (Editing by Joseph Radford)

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South African Markets – Factors to watch on June 22

June 23, 2010 By Leave a Comment

June 22 (Reuters) – The following company announcements, scheduled economic indicators, debt and currency market moves and political events may affect South African markets on Tuesday.

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GLOBAL MARKETS

Asian stocks retreated on Tuesday as investors booked profits a day after China’s weekend decision to give its currency more flexibility triggered a risk rally. [MKTS/GLOB]

SOUTH AFRICAN MARKETS

South African stocks gained on Monday as China’s pledge to allow a more flexible exchange rate lifted commodity and oil prices while the rand rallied to a seven-week high on the news before giving up the gains. [.J]

ESKOM ESCJ.J STRIKE TALKS

South Africa’s biggest union said it was hopeful fresh wage negotiations on Monday with state-owned power utility Eskom could avert a strike that could disrupt electricity supply during the World Cup. [ID:nLDE65K23Y]

MEDI-CLINIC (MDCJ.J)

The South African private healthcare company said it plans to raise to raise 1.4 billion rand ($186 million) via a rights offer to fund expansion in Switzerland, where it runs the country’s biggest private hospital group. [ID:nLDE65K21B]

REMGRO (REMJ.J)

The South African investment firm reported a 30 percent decline in full-year earnings on Monday, in line with expectations, after it spun off its stake in British American Tobacco (BTIJ.J) to shareholders. [ID:nLDE65K1V0]

WEEKLY MAIZE DATA

The South African Grain Information Service releases data on weekly maize imports and exports at 1000 GMT.

Q1 EMPLOYMENT DATA

Statistics South Africa releases Q1 quarterly employment statistics at 0930 GMT.

GOLD XAU=

Gold gained on Tuesday as the euro jumped after China’s central bank set the yan’s daily mid-point at its strongest since a 2005 revaluation, while a drop in bullion prices from a record also triggered bargain hunting. [GOL/]

WALL STREET

U.S. stocks once again succumbed to late-day selling light trade on Monday as hopes China’s newfound dedication to yuan flexibility turned to doubts about the speed and magnitude of Beijing’s intentions. [.N]

EMERGING MARKETS

For the top emerging markets news, double click on [nTOPEMRG]

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Some of the main stories out of the South African press:

BUSINESS DAY

- Telkom CEO may leave prematurely

- SARS stakes out nhigh net-worth individuals

- First Uranium “came close to bankruptcy”

BUSINESS REPORT

- Mayibuye set to build on Blue in Africa

THE STAR

- Storm the Bastille, Bafana (Reporting by David Dolan)

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