The rand fell the most in three months on Monday, weakening along with other emerging-market currencies as investors assessed the implications of the assassination attempt on US former president Donald Trump.
Trump was grazed by a bullet at a rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday. While the situation may escalate political tensions in the US, some market participants speculate that it could benefit Trump and the Republicans in the upcoming November election, reported Bloomberg. If a second Trump presidency materialises, it could result in policies that would further raise the US government’s debt.
The rand and other emerging-market currencies “begin the new week on edge, following an assassination attempt on Donald Trump. The dollar garnered inflows after the former president immediately responded by turning the failed attempt on his life into a spectacle that culminated in an increased probability of a Trump 2024 US presidential electoral win,” said RMB analysts.
At 6.18pm, the rand had weakened 1.42% to R18.1957/$ after having fallen by as much as 1.6% in intraday trade. It weakened 1.11% to R19.8322/€ and 1.17% to R23.6037/£. The euro was little changed at $1.0902.
The JSE reversed the session’s losses, closing firmer amid mixed global peers as investors assessed what a Trump win could mean for stocks.
Bloomberg reported that stocks of big financial companies, which could benefit from a lighter regulatory touch from a Republican administration, were mixed following their latest earnings results.
The JSE all share index rose 0.57% to 82,154 points and the top 40 advanced 0.65%. Banks rose 1.47%, precious metals 1.24%, financials 1.22%, listed property 1.17% and food producers 0.92%.
At 6.10pm, the Dow Jones industrial average was 0.63% firmer at 40,295 points, while markets were weaker in Europe.
Shares in Bell Equipment surged 46% to R49.64 on the day after the company’s minority shareholders received a fresh R5bn buyout bid by the Bell family through its ownership vehicle, IA Bell (IAB), along with plans to delist the firm from the JSE.
In a statement on Monday, the manufacturer and distributor of heavy industrial machinery told shareholders that the two companies had entered into an implementation agreement in terms of which IAB agreed to express a firm intention to make an offer to acquire all the issued ordinary shares in Bell Equipment from shareholders, except for the 32,233 shares held by Bell Equipment Group Services.
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