Rand steady in morning trade

Global markets have bounced back this morning after steep losses yesterday. This comes after ratings agency S & P said that write downs by big banks due to the subprime-related mortgage problems were nearing an end. This gave Wall Street a lift, which spilled over to Asia. However, currencies remain a major player on markets due to the weaker US dollar.

The rand is steady this morning following an uptake on global markets. On the capital market, the yield on the R153 government bond ended yesterday at 9.66%.

US and European markets
US stocks rallied yesterday after Standard & Poor's said the end to subprime-related write-downs is in sight, triggering a rebound in financial shares. S & P said write-downs for large financial institutions are likely past the halfway mark, soothing investors' anxiety about the latest credit market fallout and increasing the allure of riskier assets. The Dow Jones added 36 points to 12 146. The Nasdaq Composite climbed 20 points to 2 264, while the S & P500 edged up seven points to 1 315.

Europe's major markets tanked yesterday following the gloom on global markets. London's FTSE 100 tumbled 84 points to 5 692. In Paris the CAC 40 fell 1.3% to 4 630, while Frankfurt's DAX plunged 99 points to 6 501.

Negative sentiment also dominated the JSE. The all share index tripped 404 points to 30 307. Financials plunged 516 points to weaker at 19 780, while industrials tumbled 429 points to 23 334. The gold board soared 93 points to 2 736. The top 20 resources shed 404 points to 67 379.

Asian markets
Markets in the Asia-Pacific region are buoyant this morning. In Tokyo the Nikkei added 64 points to 12 498. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng rallied 332 points to 22 634. Sydney's ASX rose 66 points to 5 201.

Platinum is trading at $2088/oz and the spot price for Brent crude oil rose to $108.68 a barrel.

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