Tough road ahead for Adcorp, and BYD shooting the lights out
The rand was trading at R16.71 against the US dollar on the morning of Monday, 2 November 2026, weakening from where it closed last week.
South African shares ended sharply lower on Friday, with the JSE All Share Index losing 2.2% while the Top 40 Index lost 2.42%.
Preliminary trade figures for September showed R190.6 billion in exports against R170.8 billion in imports, producing a trade surplus of R19.8 billion.
Public finances recorded a R22.1 billion monthly deficit, while attention now turns to Monday’s assessment of South Africa’s AGOA eligibility for 2027.
On Wall Street, concerns around technology spending dragged indices lower, with the Nasdaq retreating 2.86%, its weakest since 5 June and 7.8% lower than its 6 October peak.
Intel fell 28.58% after its revenue forecast missed expectations by more than $1 billion, while Amazon’s results heightened concerns over AI spending.
In Europe, stocks ended last month on a weaker footing, with the STOXX 600 declining 0.36% despite October being its best month since June.
Eurozone output grew 0.4% in the third quarter, exceeding the 0.2% forecasts. Germany recorded growth of 0.2% while its inflation slowed to 2.8%.
Asian markets showed mixed results, with the Hang Seng rising 1.46% while the Nikkei 225 dropped 2.12%.
China’s official factory PMI slowed from 50.1 to 49.3, while Japan’s eased to 53.3 from 54.1 and South Korea’s declined to 51.3 from 53.9.
In commodities, Brent crude oil retreated sharply to around $109 per barrel after ending October at its highest level in six months. Gold rebounded 0.66% to $3,903.29.
On Monday morning, the rand was trading at R16.71 to the US dollar, R18.67 to the euro, and R22.37 to the British pound.
Important finance and investing news
Poundland collapse puts 30,000 jobs on the line: Poundland’s insolvency could trigger as much as 30,000 job losses, its founder Steve Smith warned. More than 12,000 staff jobs were put at risk after its directors filed a notice to appoint administrators, with Smith saying the impact on its suppliers will be much greater. [Yahoo Finance]
Tough road ahead for Adcorp: Human resources specialist Adcorp expects the second half of the financial year to be more demanding due to higher fuel costs, inflationary pressures, and rising interest rates placing strain on business and household spending, which will likely weigh on client activity. Adcorp recorded revenue decline of 2.1% for the first half, while profit rose 14.9%. [BusinessDay]
BYD shooting the lights out: Chinese electric vehicle maker BYD has recorded a sixth straight month of sales growth in October, with strong exports to overseas markets countering sluggish demand and intense price competition at home. Vehicle sales grew 11% from a year earlier in October. [Reuters]
North Korea pinned in $6.3 billion crypto heist: North Korea has been deemed responsible by the FBI for stealing $6.3 billion from Binance last week in the largest crypto heist in history. This follows other notable crypto thefts linked to the country in recent years. [Semafor]
Port delays slow medicine rollout: The Western Cape Health Department said the poor management of the country’s ports is slowing down the delivery of crucial medication. Provincial Health MEC Mireille Wenger has urged Transport Minister Barbara Creecy to intervene in delays at the ports. [EWN]
