These are the mid rates at 6:40 today:
| USD = R18.14 | AUD = R12.15 |
| GBP = R22.38 | DXY = 102.53 |
| EUR = R19.67 | Brent Crude = $78.85 per barrel |
Things may quiet as far as news flow goes but the upshot is that yesterday this was bad for the Dollar and good for the Rand. We opened at R18.25 to the Dollar, suffered an early scare as we fell to R18.30 but then traded progressively stronger to hit R18.14.
Top US financial officials on Tuesday outlined what’s likely to be the biggest regulatory overhaul of the banking sector in years, in an initiative aimed at addressing underlying issues that contributed to the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and other US regional lenders. “I anticipate the need to strengthen capital and liquidity standards” for banks with assets larger than $100 billion, Federal Reserve Vice Chair for Supervision Michael Barr said in answering questions at a Senate Banking Committee hearing.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government is pumping billions of dollars into clean energy subsidies and health care, despite a gloomy forecast of slow economic growth and weaker tax revenue. The federal budget released Tuesday aims to jump-start an energy transition that will, over time, generate new growth and help offset the steep cost of the subsidies.
On Tuesday Tech stocks lagged, with the Nasdaq 100 losing 0.5% as investors unwound their post-SVB sector rotation trades on the rise in bond yields and spooked by EV names showing signs of stress. Lucid (LCID:xnas) fell 7.3% on reports of layoffs. Tesla (TSLA:xnas) slipped 1.4%.
S&P 500 edged down 0.2% in a quiet session. The energy sector stood out, rising 1.5%. Occidental Petroleum (OXY:xnys) gained 4.3%, surging for the second day in a row after Berkshire Hataway added to its stake,
In after-hours trading, Lululemon (LULU:xnas) shares rose over 12% after delivering stronger-than-expected sales amid high demand and guiding an upbeat outlook. The company is looking to double its sales to $12.5 billion before 2026, as it expands its menswear business and grows its international operations.
We navigate the next couple of 4 day weeks ahead. Congratulations to the West Indies as they beat the Proteas in the T20 series.