The South African Rand edged up in early trade on Thursday to 16.5575 per dollar, about 0.3% firmer than its previous close, as the dollar slipped from an 18-month peak. The dollar index had hit an 18-month high after stronger-than-expected US inflation data, but gave up most of those gains. Investors are awaiting Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana's medium-term budget policy statement next week, with expectations of an improving budget balance and a more favourable ratings outlook. ETM Analytics said the Rand is looking to US markets for direction while the budget statement will keep traders in limbo. South Africa's benchmark 2035 government bond yield fell 6.5 basis points to 8.69%.
Summary written by Upside AI from the original article. Read the source for full details.
Original headline: Rand edges up as next week medium - term budget draws focus
Read the original on channelafrica.co.za ↗
Related news
- PM draws a line: EU budget must serve Hungary, not punish it
Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar said ahead of the European Council that the current EU budget proposal is not acceptable, as the contribution expected from Hungary and cohesion countries such as Poland would rise significantly, even though the common agricultural and cohesion policy frameworks have not been cut. He stressed that getting the content right matters more than a quick deal, since the long-term EU financial framework shapes Hungary's budget, water management and competitiveness investments for the next seven years. He said mainstream European migration positions are converging with Hungary's, calling it a 'good direction'. The Council closed rule-of-law conditionality proceedings, which should return several billion euros to Hungary, and the Tisza government further tightened child protection law. He plans to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Brussels and may meet him in Berehove in the autumn.
- V20 Ministers call for longer - term concessional finance , set next phase of Vulnerability to Viability Compact
Finance ministers from the 77 economies in the V20 group most affected by disasters called for longer-term concessional finance and greater investment in education, health and clean water, as part of the next phase of the Vulnerability to Viability (V2V) Compact. New analysis found that nine in ten assessed V20 countries sit outside the low debt-risk category of the IMF and World Bank Debt Sustainability Framework. Of the 48 eligible members, five are in debt distress, 17 at high risk, 22 at moderate risk and only four at low risk. Ministers welcomed the Lifeline Fund, the first multi-regional arrangement to provide rapid liquidity when climate shocks create balance-of-payments needs. Barbados Finance Minister Ryan Straughn said debt swaps offer only partial relief and a broader debt strategy is needed.
Related markets
Latest news
- Is Nvidia Stock Really Trading for Just 8 Times 2030 Earnings?
Nvidia is the market's most valuable company, with a market cap above $5 trillion. It trades at 27 times adjusted trailing earnings, but only about 8 times analysts' estimate for fiscal 2030 earnings, a figure the author stresses is a moving target. Revenue growth accelerated from 56% in Q2 FY 2026 to 106% in Q2 FY 2027, though guidance points to a slight slowdown in the current quarter. The stock trades at 13 times next year's earnings, and the board recently authorized a record $150 billion in share repurchases. The author also acknowledges risks such as slower growth or contracting net margins.
- US Orders Civilian Agencies to Rip DeepSeek Out of Government Systems
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security on Monday ordered civilian federal agencies to remove DeepSeek products and third-party services built on the model from their IT systems, and to stop buying them. The notice warns that using DeepSeek may transfer sensitive data to China and could produce intelligence on U.S. persons and agencies. The Commerce Department, the Navy, and the states of New York, Tennessee and Virginia had already restricted DeepSeek. The FCC votes on October 29 on barring Chinese labs from testing electronics for U.S. use.
- Tesla-SpaceX merger is 'not so easy': Analyst
Speculation about a possible merger between SpaceX (SPCX) and Tesla (TSLA) has grown on Wall Street in recent weeks. RBC Capital Markets analyst Tom Narayan says it would not be simple: SpaceX would have to acquire Tesla, likely in an all-stock deal, and would need to pay a strong premium. He sets a $480 price target for Tesla, while the shares trade near $367. The longer-term focus may be Terafab, Elon Musk's chip initiative aimed at cutting production costs by up to 90% and bypassing Nvidia and TSMC. Musk currently controls 85% of SpaceX's voting rights and 20% of Tesla's.
- Is Nvidia (NVDA) Stock Priced Right?
Chip stocks fell sharply last week, and Nvidia (NVDA) dropped nearly 2% as investors worried that heavily indebted AI companies would face higher borrowing costs after bond yields jumped for CoreWeave, a cloud company Nvidia backs. CoreWeave shares had fallen more than 15% the day before. Nvidia's own numbers show no sign of that stress: it sold $96.2 billion of chips and systems in the quarter ended July, up 106% from a year earlier, mostly from data center sales. Its net profit margin was 63.66% over the past 12 months, and management expects $108.0 billion in revenue next quarter, assuming no data center sales to China. The key risk is whether customers can keep paying for chips if interest rates stay high, and the planned partnerships to bring over $500 billion of outside capital into AI infrastructure have not yet become definitive agreements.
- Networking Stocks Rally as Tech Rebound Lifts AI Gear Makers: Ciena and Arista Climb 4%, but Cisco Barely Moves
Networking stocks rallied with the tech rebound as suppliers of AI data center gear drew buying: Ciena (CIEN) rose 4% to $347.48 and Arista Networks (ANET) climbed 4% to $183.32, well ahead of the iShares U.S. Technology ETF (IYW) at 1.29% and the Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) at 1.31%, while Cisco (CSCO) was practically unchanged at $107.06. Ciena's fiscal Q3 2026 adjusted EPS was $2.11 against a $1.73 consensus, with revenue up 37% year over year to $1.67 billion, and it raised fiscal 2026 revenue guidance to $6.42 billion. Its backlog reached $8.5 billion, but supply remains the limit, and management does not expect the market to return to balance before 2028. Two customers made up 41.7% of Q3 revenue, so Ciena's growth is concentrated. The next test is whether Ciena can hit its fiscal Q4 2026 revenue guidance of $1.75 billion under tight component supply.
- Gartner Predicts “80% of Neoclouds” Out of Business by 2030: Here’s Who Wins
Gartner forecast on October 14 that more than 80% of neoclouds will stop operating independently by 2030, and CoreWeave (CRWV) fell 25% last week. The article argues that hyperscalers funding AI capacity from their own cash flow, led by Amazon and Alphabet, are likely winners as credit tightens for indebted neoclouds. Amazon generated $140 billion of operating cash flow in fiscal 2025, more than covering $132 billion of capex, while CoreWeave's total debt reached $29.8 billion. Since their July 29 closing low, Microsoft, Alphabet and Amazon are up 15.6%, compared with 1.6% for IREN, CoreWeave and Nebius. Hyperscaler earnings in the coming weeks will need to show whether sold-out capacity is turning into results.
Get the briefing on Telegram or Zalo
Join the Upside Telegram channel or Zalo group for the Vietnam stocks and gold briefing at 8:00 and 19:00 (Vietnam time) on trading days, plus a weekly wrap on Saturday morning.