Budget warning for South Africa’s government, and Anthropic sees $40 trillion opportunity
The rand was trading at R16.66 against the US dollar on the morning of Wednesday, 28 October 2026, continuing to steadily weaken.
Domestic equities finished higher on Tuesday, with the JSE All Share Index and the Top 40 Index both up 0.63%.
Economic signals remained mixed, with the South African Reserve Bank’s leading business cycle indicator rising 1.1% for August.
However, Fitch has forecast that public debt could reach 78% of GDP over the next two years before weak growth drives renewed increases from 2028/29.
On Wall Street, tech shares helped indices advance amid enthusiasm for Anthropic’s highly anticipated public listing.
The Nasdaq gained 1.18%, while the S&P 500 rose 0.60%. The Dow Jones also edged up slightly at 0.03%.
In Europe, shares rebounded due to earnings support and easing crude oil prices, with the STOXX 600 rising 0.47% after a 0.41% decline.
French consumer confidence dropped by 5 points to 80 amid ongoing protests, its lowest level since June 2013.
Asian markets showed mixed performance, with the Nikkei 225 up 1.73% while the Hang Seng and Shanghai Composite dropped by 0.73% and 1.33%, respectively.
SK Hynix’s quarterly profits increased more than sevenfold amid AI demand, with planned shareholder returns of $75 billion this year.
In commodities, renewed supply concerns pushed crude oil prices above $115 per barrel. Gold weakened to $4,035.52 per ounce after two consecutive daily gains.
On Wednesday morning, the rand was trading at R16.66 against the US dollar, R18.54 against the euro, and R22.16 against the British pound.
Important finance and investing stories
Anhropic sees $40 trillion opportunity: AI giant Anthropic suggested on Monday in a filing ahead of its planned initial public offering that it was facing a $40 trillion per year market opportunity if it is able to capture the entirety of its demand. This exceeds SpaceX’s $28.5 trillion market opportunity figures from earlier this year. [Wall Street Journal]
13 construction companies blacklisted: The Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) has blacklisted a further 13 construction firms, bringing the total to more than 75 since mid-2024. This comes as the Department of Public Works & Infrastructure has ramped up efforts to crack down on non-compliant construction companies. [BusinessDay]
Banks eye $21 billion bonds: US banks are planning to sell about $21 billion of high-grade bonds as early as next year as part of a $63 billion funding package put together by Broadcom to help finance chips for Anthropic. Bank of America, Citigroup, and Morgan Stanley helped to arrange the deal, with other banks expected to follow suit in the coming days. [Yahoo Finance]
Brazilian markets tumble: Brazil’s currency experienced its steepest daily decline this century following president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s reelection, with its benchmark stock index also plummeting 14% as a result. Investors remain cautious on the country’s economic prospects after its budget deficit grew to more than 8% of GDP during Lula’s third term [Semafor]
Budget warning for South Africa: Parliament’s Budget Office (PBO) has warned the National Treasury not to mistake the government’s budget surplus and recently improved risk premium for economic resilience. The PBO has said the country continues to perform poorly in terms of low economic growth and unemployment compared to other developing countries such as India, Brazil, and Mexico. [EWN]
