The following company announcements, scheduled economic indicators, debt and currency market moves and political events may affect South African markets on Friday.
CORPORATE EVENTS
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– Liberty Holdings holds AGM.
– The crippling four-month miners strike in South Africa could last much longer, the chief executive of Impala Platinum said, adding that feedback from initial court-mediated talks with the world’s biggest producers and main mining union was lukewarm.
SOUTH AFRICAN MARKETS
The main indices marched to lifetime highs on Thursday, with the broad All-Share index hitting 50,000 for the first time in its history, as local shares of SABMiller rising after its full-year earnings results.
The rand rose to its strongest in a week against the dollar on Thursday after the central bank kept interest rates on hold but gave the market enough hawkish comments to suggest a hike is coming soon.
GLOBAL MARKETS
Asian shares edged up to one-year highs on Friday as investors lapped up signs of improving momentum in the world’s biggest economies, with Tokyo’s Nikkei poised to score its first weekly gain in over a month thanks to a weaker yen.
WALL STREET
U.S. stocks ended higher for the second straight session on Thursday, led by small-cap stocks, while the Nasdaq climbed on a rally in biotech shares.
GOLD
Palladium was steady near a 2-1/2-year high on Friday and was headed for its best week in two months on supply fears due to a prolonged strike in major producer South Africa.
EMERGING MARKETS
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Some of the main stories out in the South African press:
BUSINESS DAY
– Bank “ready to act” if inflation worsens
– Telkom in new bid for Business Connexion
BUSINESS REPORT
– Telkom pays 2.7 billion rand ($261.00 million) for ICT diversity
($1 = 10.3450 South African Rand)