Truworths customers turning to credit, and Wall Street’s $2.5 trillion reality check
The rand was trading at R16.52 against the US dollar on the morning of Friday, 6 November 2026, weakening again after strengthening the day before.
South African equities rose sharply on Thursday, with the JSE All Share Index closing 3.67% higher and the Top 40 Index rising 3.99%.
Early municipal election results strengthened expectations of investment-friendly coalitions in major economic nodes around the country.
Economic conditions remain strained, however, with October’s private-sector PMI staying at 49.0 as output contracted for a second consecutive month.
Higher fuel costs and delays at the Port of Durban heightened operating pressures, while selling-price inflation reached a four-month high.
On Wall Street, technology shares suffered heavy losses on Thursday, with the Nasdaq recording its largest fall in 19 months at 5.52%.
The S&P 500 and Dow Jones followed with similarly sharp declines, dropping 4.36% and 3.44%, respectively.
Democratic victories in the midterm elections raised concerns about regulatory obstacles to data-centre expansion.
In Europe, technology and defence weakness pulled European shares down, with the STOXX 600 dropping 0.38% from a near-record level.
The Bank of England raised rates to 4%, with eight policymakers supporting a quarter-point hike and one moving for a larger increase.
Asian markets saw sharp sell-offs on Friday, with South Korea’s KOSPI initially down more than 8% and Japan’s Nikkei 225 down 5%.
Domestic buying subsequently helped contain losses, with Samsung recovering to a 3.23% loss while SK Hynix traded 5.30% lower.
In commodities, Brent crude oil rose to around $99 per barrel after falling more than 8% to two-month settlement lows following Wednesday’s Democratic victories.
Gold eased on Friday to $4,044.44 per ounce amid renewed inflation concerns and expectations of prolonged higher interest rates.
On Friday morning, the rand was trading at R16.52 to the US dollar, R18.51 to the euro, and R22.20 to the British pound.
Important finance and investing news
Wall Street’s $2.5 trillion reality check: The Nasdaq composite closed in correction territory in the stock market’s worst day since last April, shedding an estimated $2.5 trillion in value. This is the biggest drop in the benchmark’s history, coming just two days after the midterm elections. [Wall Street Journal]
Truworths customers turning to credit: Truworths says its cash-squeezed customers are increasingly turning to credit to make purchases, with the company’s cash sales falling. Truworths’ online sales in South Africa rose 16.9% amid a broader turnover slump. [BusinessDay]
Intel kisses $460 billion goodbye: Intel has erased $460 billion from its market capitalisation since June, with the chipmaker’s latest peak-to-trough decline of 58% over 30 trading days being sharper than its dot-com bust in 2000, which saw its stock fall 53% between 31 August and 11 October. [Yahoo Finance]
Investors sceptical on Anthropic’s $1.5 trillion IPO: Investors are becoming increasingly sceptical about whether Anthropic’s upcoming initial public offering can reach the expected valuation of $1.5 trillion after a deep-market sell-off tied to the unwinding of artificial intelligence shares. [Wall Street Journal]
NERSA registers R78 billion facilities: The National Energy Regulator of South Africa registered 144 new energy generation facilities between July and September. These facilities have a combined generation capacity of 3,000 megawatts, with an estimated value of R78.16 billion. [EWN]
