Rand loses ground

Investors on local financial markets will have to tighten their seatbelts today ahead of an expected bumpy ride. On the local front the rand also retreated sharply. The latest turmoil on world financial markets has had a wide-ranging effect. The latest market jitters was brought about by Bear Sterns steps to secure emergency funding. One of the world's leading financial services firm JP Morgan says it will buy troubled Wall Street bank for £ 236 million.

On the capital market, the yield on the R153 government bond ended at 9.63% on Friday.

US and European markets
US stocks tumbled on Friday as an emergency rescue of US investment giant Bear Stearns orchestrated by the Federal Reserve revived fears about a deepening global credit crunch, triggering a massive sell-off in shares across the board. Stocks plummeted after the New York Fed and JPMorgan Chase stepped in with short-term financing for Bear Stearns, the fifth-largest US investment bank.

The Dow Jones plunged 195 points or 1.6% to 11 951. The Nasdaq Composite tumbled 51 points or 2.3% to 2 212. The S&P 500 fell 27 points to 1 288.

Jitters over Bear Stearns also weighed on Europe's major markets. London's FTSE 100 shed 60 points, or 1% to 5 632. In Paris the CAC 40 tripped 38 points to 4 592, while Frankfurt's DAX retreated 49 points to 6 452. Resources stocks underpinned the JSE on Friday. The all share index rose 341 points or 1.1% to 30 648. Financials slipped 51 points to 19 728, while industrials added 28 points to 23 362. The gold board shot up 29 points to 2 765. The top 20 resources jumped 1 509 points to 68 888.

Asian markets
Markets in the Asia-Pacific region are sharply lower this morning. In Tokyo the Nikkei fell by 515 points, or 4.2% to 11 727. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng tumbled 1084 points, or 4.9% to 21 153, while Sydney ASX plunged 153 points, or 3% to 5 054.

Platinum is trading at $2105/oz and the spot price for Brent crude oil rose to $109 86 a barrel.

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