State-owned bank seeks R2.5 billion, and Apple joins $5 trillion club

The rand was trading at R16.57 against the US dollar on the morning of Thursday, 15 October 2026, weakening once again after a slight recovery.

South African equities closed yesterday lower, with the JSE All Share Index dropping 0.82% and the Top 40 Index dropping 0.85%.

The PayInc Economic Activity Index declined 0.4% in September after a 1.2% increase in August, while annual activity remained 1.8% higher.

Moody’s said that sustained improvement in the country’s public finances could see its first rating upgrade from the agency since 2009.

On Wall Street, markets declined after higher-than-expected September inflation, reaching 3.7% against a 3.6% forecast.

This raised concerns of further Federal Reserve rate tightening, with the Nasdaq falling 1.88% and the S&P 500 falling 1.1%.

European indices recorded modest gains, with the STOXX 600 gaining 0.43% and the CAC 40 gaining 0.58%.

This was supported by ASML’s strong earnings, showing renewed demand for artificial intelligence, while healthcare shares rose 2.3% to their highest levels since 7 September.

Regional markets in Asia opened lower as stronger US inflation fuelled concerns about higher global interest rates and reduced demand for technology shares,

The Shanghai Composite led the decline at 0.88%, followed by the Hang Seng at 0.13% and the Nikkei 225 at 0.05%.

In commodities, Brent crude oil fell to around $104 per barrel despite security risks near the Strait of Hormuz, supported by increasing Russian production.

Meanwhile, gold rebounded to $4,145.47 per ounce as investors weighed US interest rate expectations against inflation, recovering from a one-week low.

On Thursday morning, the rand was trading at R16.57 to the US dollar, R18.57 to the euro, and R21.92 to the British pound.

Important finance and investing news

Apple joins the $5 trillion club: Apple became the second company to close past the $5 trillion valuation mark on Wednesday, with only chip-maker Nvidia having achieved this in the past. While Apple’s valuation had surpassed $5 trillion six times during intraday trading in the past, this is its first time closing above that level. [Wall Street Journal]

Moody’s predicts 21% growth for Discovery: Credit ratings agency Moody’s has forecast 21% asset growth for Discovery Bank. The agency expects the bank to turn a profit this year, and said its behavioural banking and shared-value model sets it apart from South Africa’s other major banks. [BusinessDay]

Anthropic hits $16.8 billion: Anthropic reported Q3 revenue of $16.8 billion, up from $11.5 billion in the second quarter. This comes as Wall Street awaits the AI startup’s public S-1 filing, for which it privately filed the paperwork with the Securities and Exchange Commission on 1 September. [Yahoo Finance]

Netflix cuts 1,000 jobs: Netflix has laid off around 6% of its workforce, equating to 1,000 jobs, in its biggest set of layoffs since 2022. This comes as the streaming pioneer faces tough competition from its rivals. Most of the cuts fall in the product, tech, legal, and human resources teams. [Reuters]

State-owned bank seeks R2.5 billion: Postbank is seeking R2.5 billion in funding from the government in order to become a fully fledged state-owned commercial bank. While the bank said it has a commercial business case, it needs funding to improve its workforce and install ATMs. [EWN]