670 Chinese banks shut down in one year, and R77 billion paper giant’s call for help rejected

The rand was trading at R16.74 against the US dollar on the morning of Monday, 5 October 2026, weaker than when it closed last week Friday.

Despite this, South African equities ended last week on a positive footing, with the JSE All Share Index up 0.57% and the Top 40 Index up 0.61%.

Gains were led by financial and mining counters, while housing activity remained muted as most provinces recorded declining transaction volumes in the second quarter.

On Wall Street, markets closed higher with the Nasdaq up 1.19%, while the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones recorded gains of 0.73% and 0.49%, respectively.

US unemployment rose to 4.2%, reducing the expectations for an October Federal Reserve rate hike from 64.2% to just 22.7%.

European indices recovered, with the STOXX 600 rebounding 0.8% after hitting a three-month low the day before.

This was driven largely by softer US employment data and easing oil prices, which helped sentiment to recover after the bond-led selloff.

In Asia, markets opened firmer amid light holiday trading in China and South Korea, with the Hang Seng posting a decline of 2.60% and the Nikkei 225 down 0.94%.

In the commodities market, Brent crude oil softened to around $101 per barrel following a G7 release of more than 100 million barrels from emergency reserves.

Meanwhile, gold prices edged higher as expectations for an October Fed rate hike softened, now trading at $4,132.60 per ounce.

On Monday morning, the rand was trading at R16.74, R18.70 to the euro, and R22.09 to the British pound.

Important finance and investing news

Renault’s €10 billion bet on electric: French car-maker Renault has said it will look to invest €10 billion (R187 billion) in electric vehicles and more affordable cars in France over the next five years. This comes after the car-maker invested €13 billion (R243 billion) in electric vehicles in France over the past five years. [Reuters]

ITAC rejects R77 billion paper giant: The International Trade Administration Commission has turned down a request from South African paper company Mondi to increase tariffs on imported office paper, saying anti-dumping duties may be a better solution. The R77 billion JSE-listed company said imported office paper was flooding the market and eating into its revenue base. [BusinessDay]

Euro falls to 17-month low: The euro has fallen to its weakest level since May 2025, with investors concerned about intensifying political and fiscal risks in the region. The currency fell as much as 0.8%, and has been placed under pressure from a strengthening dollar as the Federal Reserve is expected to raise rates three more times by July to ease rising inflation. [Bloomberg]

China closed 670 banks in one year: 670 banks across China were closed last year, representing nearly one in four lenders. This is a record for the country as it looks to reduce risk amid slowing economic growth, with a majority of these banks being rural, which remains the weakest part of China’s economy, according to Fitch. [Semafor]

New car sales on the rise: New vehicle sales continued to increase last month in spite of macroeconomic headwinds such as rising fuel prices and the Reserve Bank’s decision to raise interest rates. According to Naamsa, a total of 61,645 units were sold during September, a 12.7% year-on-year increase. [EWN]