JOHANNESBURG, Dec 2 (Reuters) - The following company announcements, scheduled economic indicators, debt and currency market moves and political events may affect South African markets on Wednesday.
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GLOBAL MARKETS
Gold surged to an all-time high above $1,200 an ounce on Wednesday, hitting a record for a second straight day, and Asian stocks advanced as investors chased riskier assets offering higher returns.
The MSCI index of Asia Pacific stocks traded outside Japan was 1.3 percent higher while the Thomson Reuters index of regional shares was up 0.6 percent.
SOUTH AFRICAN MARKETS
South Africa's rand firmed against the dollar on Tuesday as concerns over the Dubai credit crisis waned, swaying investors back to high-risk assets and local stocks climbed on the back of stronger resource shares.
The Johannesburg Top-40 index rose 1.5 percent to 24,722.58 points, while the broader All-Share index advanced 1.42 percent to 27,277.50 points.
ANGLOGOLD ASHANTI
Gold miner AngloGold Ashanti has agreed a new three-year salary deal with unionised workers in Ghana which it hopes will end strikes at its mines there, it said on Tuesday.
The firm will raise salaries by 12 percent in 2009 and 10 percent in both 2010 and 2011, said John Owusu, General Manager for Corporate Affairs.
ANGLO AMERICAN
Anglo American has agreed to a rights issue at De Beers. This will help ease the diamond miner's debts, but leaves Anglo with a large minority stake in a business it does not control. It should demand greater influence over De Beers' management as the price for its support.
Anglo, along with fellow shareholders the Oppenheimer family and Botswana, says it is willing to provide up to $1 billion to help De Beers restructure its debt.
ESKOM
South Africa's state-owned electricity company Eskom has cut a price hike request to 35 percent from 45 percent a year over the next three years, but the struggling utility says this will leave it short of cash.
SASOL
South African petrochemicals group Sasol will sign a memorandum of understanding to invest more than $2 billion in Indonesia's coal sector, Gita Wirjawan, the head of Indonesia's investment board, said on Wednesday.
SOUTH AFRICA - AIDS
South Africa, which has the world's highest HIV caseload, will roll out life-prolonging anti-retroviral drugs to significantly more people infected with the virus from next year, President Jacob Zuma said on Tuesday.
Zuma announced a new era in the approach to AIDS in South Africa, where at least 5.7 million people are infected with HIV and predecessor Thabo Mbeki was accused of failing to address a sickness that kills an estimated 1,000 people a day.
GOLD
Gold hit a record high for the second straight day on Wednesday as the dollar remained weak and economic uncertainty, underscored by Dubai's debt woes, continued to support gold as a safe-haven asset.
Spot gold extended gains after hitting $1,207.15 an ounce in the current session, to stand as high as $1,207.65 by 0234 GMT, versus New York's notional close of $1,196.00.
WALL STREET
The Dow Jones industrial average climbed to its highest close in 14 months on Tuesday as a weak dollar boosted natural resource companies' shares and economic data reinforced hopes for a sustainable recovery.
The Dow Jones industrial average shot up 126.74 points, or 1.23 percent, to end at 10,471.58. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index rose 13.23 points, or 1.21 percent, to 1,108.86. The Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 31.21 points, or 1.46 percent, to close at 2,175.81.
EMERGING MARKETS
For the top emerging markets news, double click on
NAMIBIA
Namibia's ruling SWAPO party was heading on Tuesday for another big election win, with a two-thirds majority that gives it the power to change the constitution looking likely as more votes came in.
Initial results from just over 10 percent of the 1.18 million registered voters show the South West Africa People's Organisation, a former guerrilla movement that led the arid state to independence in 1990, leading with 70 percent.
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Some of the main stories out of the South African press:
BUSINESS DAY
- Crisis forces Eskom to look again at private sector role
- Small rise in output highlights fragility of recovery
- Discovery makes early move into China
BUSINESS REPORT
- New Eskom tariffs better, but lower fees will lead to funding shorfall
THE STAR
- Boost for HIV sufferers
(Reporting by Gugulakhe Lourie) (For more Reuters Africa coverage and to have your say on the top issues, visit: http://af.reuters.com/) Keywords: MARKETS SAFRICA FACTORS/ (gugu.lourie@thomsonreuters.com; +27 11 775 3162; Reuters Messaging: gugu.lourie.reuters.com@reuters.net.) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
- - - -
GLOBAL MARKETS
Gold surged to an all-time high above $1,200 an ounce on Wednesday, hitting a record for a second straight day, and Asian stocks advanced as investors chased riskier assets offering higher returns.
The MSCI index of Asia Pacific stocks traded outside Japan was 1.3 percent higher while the Thomson Reuters index of regional shares was up 0.6 percent.
SOUTH AFRICAN MARKETS
South Africa's rand firmed against the dollar on Tuesday as concerns over the Dubai credit crisis waned, swaying investors back to high-risk assets and local stocks climbed on the back of stronger resource shares.
The Johannesburg Top-40 index rose 1.5 percent to 24,722.58 points, while the broader All-Share index advanced 1.42 percent to 27,277.50 points.
ANGLOGOLD ASHANTI
Gold miner AngloGold Ashanti has agreed a new three-year salary deal with unionised workers in Ghana which it hopes will end strikes at its mines there, it said on Tuesday.
The firm will raise salaries by 12 percent in 2009 and 10 percent in both 2010 and 2011, said John Owusu, General Manager for Corporate Affairs.
ANGLO AMERICAN
Anglo American has agreed to a rights issue at De Beers. This will help ease the diamond miner's debts, but leaves Anglo with a large minority stake in a business it does not control. It should demand greater influence over De Beers' management as the price for its support.
Anglo, along with fellow shareholders the Oppenheimer family and Botswana, says it is willing to provide up to $1 billion to help De Beers restructure its debt.
ESKOM
South Africa's state-owned electricity company Eskom has cut a price hike request to 35 percent from 45 percent a year over the next three years, but the struggling utility says this will leave it short of cash.
SASOL
South African petrochemicals group Sasol will sign a memorandum of understanding to invest more than $2 billion in Indonesia's coal sector, Gita Wirjawan, the head of Indonesia's investment board, said on Wednesday.
SOUTH AFRICA - AIDS
South Africa, which has the world's highest HIV caseload, will roll out life-prolonging anti-retroviral drugs to significantly more people infected with the virus from next year, President Jacob Zuma said on Tuesday.
Zuma announced a new era in the approach to AIDS in South Africa, where at least 5.7 million people are infected with HIV and predecessor Thabo Mbeki was accused of failing to address a sickness that kills an estimated 1,000 people a day.
GOLD
Gold hit a record high for the second straight day on Wednesday as the dollar remained weak and economic uncertainty, underscored by Dubai's debt woes, continued to support gold as a safe-haven asset.
Spot gold extended gains after hitting $1,207.15 an ounce in the current session, to stand as high as $1,207.65 by 0234 GMT, versus New York's notional close of $1,196.00.
WALL STREET
The Dow Jones industrial average climbed to its highest close in 14 months on Tuesday as a weak dollar boosted natural resource companies' shares and economic data reinforced hopes for a sustainable recovery.
The Dow Jones industrial average shot up 126.74 points, or 1.23 percent, to end at 10,471.58. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index rose 13.23 points, or 1.21 percent, to 1,108.86. The Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 31.21 points, or 1.46 percent, to close at 2,175.81.
EMERGING MARKETS
For the top emerging markets news, double click on
NAMIBIA
Namibia's ruling SWAPO party was heading on Tuesday for another big election win, with a two-thirds majority that gives it the power to change the constitution looking likely as more votes came in.
Initial results from just over 10 percent of the 1.18 million registered voters show the South West Africa People's Organisation, a former guerrilla movement that led the arid state to independence in 1990, leading with 70 percent.
- - - -
Some of the main stories out of the South African press:
BUSINESS DAY
- Crisis forces Eskom to look again at private sector role
- Small rise in output highlights fragility of recovery
- Discovery makes early move into China
BUSINESS REPORT
- New Eskom tariffs better, but lower fees will lead to funding shorfall
THE STAR
- Boost for HIV sufferers
(Reporting by Gugulakhe Lourie) (For more Reuters Africa coverage and to have your say on the top issues, visit: http://af.reuters.com/) Keywords: MARKETS SAFRICA FACTORS/ (gugu.lourie@thomsonreuters.com; +27 11 775 3162; Reuters Messaging: gugu.lourie.reuters.com@reuters.net.) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
© 2009 AFX News
