South African Markets - Factors to watch on Jan 13

JOHANNESBURG, Jan 13 (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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EVENTS

PRETORIA - South African Grain Information Service (SAGIS) releases data on weekly maize deliveries from farms. 1000 GMT



GLOBAL MARKETS

Stock markets and commodities fell in Asia on Wednesday after Beijing's surprise decision to raise banks' reserve requirements sparked concerns that the move could slow China's purchases of natural resources and other imported goods from around the region.

High-yielding 'commodity' currencies such as the Australian dollar also weakened after the move by the People's Bank of China late on Tuesday, which appeared to be prompted by concerns that inflation could flare up if the economy overheated.



SOUTH AFRICAN MARKETS

The South African rand weakened by as much as 1.9 percent against the dollar on Tuesday on subdued manufacturing data and tracking falls in other commodity currencies.

Blue-chip stocks ended in the red as the recent rally in metals shares ran out of steam.

The Johannesburg Top-40 index fell 1.06 percent to 25,428.63 points and the broader All-Share index lost 1.02 percent to 28,057.68 points.



GOLD

Gold was little changed on Wednesday with investors seeking the next clue to direction after a broad sell-off in commodities the previous day when China's surprise monetary tightening drained the appetite for riskier assets.

China tightened monetary conditions on Tuesday as the world's third-largest economy roars ahead, surprising investors with an increase in banks' required reserves. The move rocked global financial markets.



WALL STREET

U.S. stocks slid in a broad selloff on Tuesday as investors pummeled financials on concerns about a potential government levy on banks, while Alcoa Inc's disappointing results tempered optimism about the economic recovery.

The benchmark S&P 500 broke a six-day streak of gains as banks led the financial sector lower, sending the KBW bank index down almost 2 percent. Shares of Bank of America dropped 3.4 percent, while Citigroup shed 3 percent and JPMorgan declined 2.3 percent.



EMERGING MARKETS

For the top emerging markets news, double click on

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



BUSINESS DAY

- 'Cautious optimism' on factory recovery

- Tripartite alliance tensions to test South African President Jacob Zuma's leadership

- Nigerian MPs to visit absentee president



BUSINESS REPORT

- Paper sector fights Eskom hike proposal

- South African job market faces trying times



THE STAR

- Prinsloo had 'god and slave' complex: ex-Belarusian girlfriend tells of death threats

- Ticket sales worry chief World Cup organiser Danny Jordaan

(Reporting by Serena Chaudhry) (For more Africa cover visit: http://af.reuters.com -- To comment on this story email: [e-mail]) Keywords: MARKETS SAFRICA FACTORS/ ([e-mail]; [phone]; Reuters Messaging: [e-mail]) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2010. 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.