Market Watch |

Bitcoin’s White-Knuckle Ride Continues as It Hurtles Past $8,000

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Bitcoin’s relentless and volatile rally shows no sign of abating, with the world’s largest cryptocurrency defying growing bubble fears to hit yet another milestone. Bitcoin rose as much as 6.7 percent to a record $8,224 as of 9:27 a.m. in New York. It’s been a tumultuous year for the virtual currency, with three separate slumps of more than 25 percent all giving way to subsequent rallies. “The inflation in…

Investec First-Half Profit Climbs 21% as Funds Increase

Posted on by The Editorial Team

JOHANNESBURG Capital Markets in Africa) – Investec Plc, which owns a lender and money manager in South Africa and the U.K., said fiscal first-half profit rose 21 percent as funds under management increased, equity markets rose and the banking business increased lending. Net income climbed to 252.4 million pounds ($332 million) in the six months ended Sept. 30 from 208.6 million pounds a year earlier, the London- and Johannesburg-based lender said in a statement on Thursday. The dividend…

Bitcoin dives below $7,000

Posted on by The Editorial Team

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Bitcoin has been on a wild ride since a plan to help the red-hot coin scale was scraped. Backers of the so-called Segwit2x proposal were considering to split from bitcoin’s main blockchain network, but power-brokers behind the plan called off their support for the upgrade on Wednesday. That mean’s the network will remain intact — at least for now. Initially, the news sent bitcoin up near $7,900 per coin. Since then, however, it has tanked close to…

Mondi Falls as Rising Costs, Currency Moves Weigh on Earnings

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JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – Mondi Limited shares slumped the most in more than a year after South Africa’s biggest packaging maker said rising costs and unfavourable currency moves would see full-year earnings come in below expectations. The stock plunged as much as 7 percent in early trade in Johannesburg and London, the most intraday since June 2016. The cost of wood, energy and chemicals increased in the three months through September, while the weaker…

South Africa Tests Eurobond Market After Rating Downgrade

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JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – South Africa’s borrowing costs may rise in a Eurobond offering Tuesday, the country’s first since it joined the ranks of high-yield issuers after two companies lowered its credit ratings to junk. The country is selling 10-year dollar bonds with initial price guidance of about 5 percent, the National Treasury said in an emailed response to questions, without disclosing the amount. That’s higher than the rate on existing securities due…

Iron Risks Plunge to $40s as Marex Sounds Second-Half Alarm

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Iron ore prices that have steadied in recent weeks after a spectacular two-month rout may be set for another steep leg down in the second half, according to Marex Spectron, which forecasts that the commodity is at risk of sinking into the $40s as mine supply expands. “What we’re seeing six months from now are weaker demand and higher supply,” Georgi Slavov, head of research at the commodity broker, said in an…

Banking and Industrial Counters Push Nigerian Benchmark Index 5bps Higher

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – The equities market closed positive at the end of trade today as the All Share Index (ASI) added 5bps to close at 25,510.01 points. Consequently, market capitalisation advanced N4.6bn to settle at N8.8tn while YTD loss remained at 5.1%. STANBIC (+2.2%), WAPCO (+1.9%) and ZENITH (+1.3%) were the major drivers today. Also, market activity improved as volume and value traded rose 41.0% and 82.8% to settle at 349.3m units and N2.3bn respectively. Mixed…

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