US recession fears drags global markets down

Fears over a recession in the US have dragged global markets lower this morning and could still play a role on domestic markets today. The concerns also had an impact on currencies and precious metal prices.

The rand is weaker this morning after the currency took a further knock following a poor US jobs report on Friday.

In business news, South Africa's biggest black-owned mining group Exxaro Resources says that it had shut a furnace at its KZN Sands Empangeni processing complex after it was damaged by water.

ArcelorMittal South Africa, Africa's biggest steelmaker, says that it is being sued by EcoElectrica, which claims Arcelor excluded it from a power-plant project initiated by EcoElectrica.

Oil rose this morning, bolstered by a bout of cold weather in the United States, but prices stayed below the record high of above $106 struck in the previous session.

US and UK markets
US stocks fell on Friday on recession fears sparked by the report showing the biggest drop in US non-farm payrolls in nearly five years. The Dow Jones fell 147 points to 11 894. The Nasdaq Composite gave up eight points to 2 212, while the S & P 500 retreated 11 points to 1 293.

The US jobs data also fanned concerns over global economic growth in Europe. London's FTSE 100 fell 67 points to 5 700.

The JSE slumped on Friday after the US jobs report deepened fears of a recession in America. The all share index tumbled 362 points to 30 718.

Asian markets
Markets in the Asia-Pacific region are lower this morning after Wall Street's fall. In Tokyo the Nikkei plunged 240 points to 12 543. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng fell 342 points to 22 159, while Sydney's ASX slumped 83 points to 5 181.

Platinum is trading at $2025/oz and the spot price for Brent crude oil has risen to $103.97 a barrel.

See the latest indicators at the bottom of the front page.