South Africa leaves billions on the table, and Trump promises to give Americans $5,000

The rand was trading at R16.05 against the US dollar on the morning of Thursday, 10 September 2026, weaker than it was the day before.

South African equities weakened yesterday, with the JSE All Share Index dropping 0.80% and the Top 40 Index declining 0.86%.

Market attention has shifted towards current account, mining, and manufacturing data, which are set to be released later today.

Wall Street indices closed lower yesterday as 10-year Treasury yields climbed to their highest levels since November 2023 amid inflation risks.

The S&P 500 was down 0.48%, while the Nasdaq declined by 0.64% and the Dow Jones by 0.77%.

European markets recorded notable losses ahead of the European Central Bank’s rate decision, which is scheduled to be announced later today.

The CAC 40 declined by 1.94% against rising oil price pressures, while the Eurostoxx 50 fell 1.83%, the DAX 30 by 1.66%, and the FTSE 100 by 1.31%.

In Asia, benchmarks traded slightly lower with the Hang Seng down 0.17% and the Nikkei 225 down 0.19%.

Market focus has centred on a potential interest rate hike by the Bank of Japan and escalating Middle East shipping concerns.

The latter has also pushed Brent crude oil past $101 per barrel, while gold rose 0.27% to $4,413.66 per ounce.

On Thursday morning, the rand was trading at R16.05 against the US dollar, R18.66 against the euro, and R21.74 against the British pound.

Important finance and investing news

Trump promises to give Americans $5,000: United States President Donald Trump announced during his keynote presentation on the first night of the Republican midterm convention that he will pay a dividend of $5,000 to every American adult if his party keeps control of Congress after November. [Wall Street Journal]

South Africa leaves billions on the table: The South African government reportedly spends R7.55 billion annually on clothing, yet only 32% is locally sourced. This has placed 34,000 jobs across South Africa’s textile industry at risk by the end of the decade as platforms such as Shein and Temu continue to gain popularity. [BusinessDay]

US says goodbye to Canada: The Trump administration is moving to ban Canadian imports such as alcohol, whey, and motorcycles as the trade war between the two countries continues to ramp up. The bans are set to take effect at the end of this month, but the two countries have agreed to meet to negotiate alternative solutions beforehand. [Semafor]

R192 million to build a road: The City of Johannesburg has defended the R192 million cost of rehabilitating Lilian Ngoyi Road, saying the project required complex engineering and infrastructure work. The project’s deadline, which was last month, has been pushed to October, and comes three years after the road was damaged by a gas explosion. [EWN]

Elon Musk’s company raises $3 billion: Boring Co. has secured $3 billion in a new funding round backed by the United Arab Emirates and other investment entities. This has valued the Elon Musk-founded tunnelling startup at $23 billion, and will support tunnel infrastructure across the UAE. [Bloomberg]