Spar under siege, and Elon Musk’s SpaceX racks up the wins

The rand was flat in early trade on Thursday, 20 August, hovering above the R16/USD level.

The local currency took the cue from global investors who avoided taking large positions after an unexpected US Treasury announcement about supporting the bond market.

The US dollar also weakened against a basket of currencies after the United States’ Treasury Department said it would double buyback operations for longer-dated government bonds.

The US aims to support market liquidity through this buyback, but this has impacted the dollar, which lost 1.2% and 0.9% against the euro and pound, respectively.

In addition, the buyback announcement came after a major bond sell-off as investors demanded higher returns amid increased inflationary risks stemming from the war in the Middle East.

ETM Analytics told Reuters that the move had improved global risk appetite and boosted demand for higher-yielding assets, including South African bonds.

This saw South Africa’s benchmark 2035 government bond remain steady in early deals, as the yield fell half a basis point to 8.465%.

However, unlike in many other countries, South African bond yields are now well below where they were at the same time in 2025.

In equity markets, the JSE found itself in the red, with the All Share Index down 0.34% and the Top 40 Index sliding 0.29%.

Wall Street was not much better off, with the S&P 500 falling 0.87% amid rising bond yields and oil prices. The Dow declined 1.3%, and the NASDAQ eased 1.0%.

However, Asian markets are trading mostly higher on Friday morning. The Nikkei is trading 0.3% lower, the Hang Seng has advanced 0.7%, and the Kospi is trading 1.0% higher.

Turning to commodities markets, the Brent crude oil price lifted 0.27% to $93.28 per barrel, hitting a multi-week high heading into a second consecutive weekly gain.

The gold price also rose 0.85% to $4,554.28 per ounce, driven by the weaker dollar and pull-back in long-term US bond yields following the Treasury’s intervention.

On the morning of Friday, 21 August, the rand was trading at R16.07 against the US dollar, R18.80 against the euro, and R21.93 against the British pound.

Important finance and investing news

Walmart plunges 10%: Walmart shares slumped by 10% on Thursday after the retailer reported its smallest sales gain in more than six years. Walmart’s slower growth came as some consumers continue to watch their wallets amid higher fuel prices. [Wall Street Journal] 

Questions surround Spar’s boardroom reshuffle: Former Spar deputy chair Shirley Zinn faced intense scrutiny over her independence and business dealings before she left the retailer. These included her financial interest in a recruitment firm that had business deals with Spar and Spur. [BusinessDay]

No end in sight for CPUT shutdown: Student leaders at CPUT said that the university shutdown will continue if talks with management fail to resolve their demands. This includes the implementation of a financial recovery plan that has been revoked. [EWN]

SpaceX racking up the wins: Elon Musk’s rocket and AI company has landed several lucrative contracts in Washington to build and launch military satellites. The company is also benefiting from the Trump administration’s efforts to cut regulations and requirements for launching rockets. [Wall Street Journal] 

Anthropic going big: Anthropic expects its IPO to match or beat SpaceX’s record-setting IPO offering earlier this year. Musk’s company raised $75 billion at the outset and over $86 billion after its oversubscribed option was fulfilled. [Bloomberg/Yahoo Finance]