South African construction giant has R39 billion order book, and Anthropic to go ahead with IPO

The rand was trading at R16.36 against the US dollar on the morning of Tuesday, 10 November 2026, strengthening from the day before.

South African shares began the week higher, with the JSE All Share Index up 2.04% and the Top 40 Index rising 2.27%.

Municipal coalition discussions remained in focus after electoral setbacks weakened the ANC’s position in local government formation negotiations.

Shoprite and Investec partnered in principle to broaden the retailer’s financial services, including the introduction of a debit card.

Investec has agreed to sponsor this new expanded transactional account offering, subject to regulatory approval.

On Wall Street, falling crude oil prices helped US equities rebound on Monday after concerns about potential AI regulation drove last week’s selloff.

The S&P 500 was up 2.35%, with all eleven of its major sectors making gains, while the Nasdaq and Dow Jones rose 2.74 and 2.15%, respectively.

In Europe, stocks strengthened across various sectors, with defence shares climbing 4.2%. This led the STOXX 600 to rise 1.26%.

German exports rose 2% in September, exceeding the 0.5% forecast, while markets continue to price in further European Central Bank rate tightening in January.

Asian markets made gains as cheaper oil and reduced expectations of US strikes on Iran encouraged investors. The Nikkei 225 rose 2.33%.

Japan’s September household spending contracted 6.8% annually, against an expected 3.1% decline, falling 2.8% from August.

In commodities, crude oil continued to fall as traders reassessed supply risks, with it now hovering around $91 per barrel. Gold retreated to $4,115.82.

On Tuesday morning, the rand was trading at R16.36 against the US dollar, R18.37 to the euro, and R22.00 to the British pound.

Important finance and investing news

China’s trade surplus shoots past $1 trillion: China’s trade surplus surged past $1 trillion in the first 10 months of 2026, putting China on track to exceed last year’s surplus of $1.19 trillion. Exports in electric vehicles, semiconductors, and industrial robots soared despite global trade tensions and economic conditions. [Wall Street Journal]

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Raubex hits R39 billion: Raubex’s order book climbed 24% since year-end to reach R39 billion amidst renewed tender opportunities in rail, renewable energy, and water infrastructure. This comes after Sanral awarded four road construction projects worth a combined R1.54 billion between July and October. [BusinessDay]

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Succession crisis at Nvidia: The scandal involving Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has spotlighted the company’s thin governance structure and succession planning. Huang has been CEO since co-founding the company in 1993 and has no obvious successor, while its board of directors has been described as weak. [Semafor]

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Anthropic to go ahead with IPO: Anthropic plans to set a valuation range this week and begin trading towards the end of next week, with some investors remaining sceptical of the launch of a major tech IPO shortly after one of the Nasdaq’s biggest sell-offs and the exposure of Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang’s affair with a suspected Chinese spy. [Yahoo Finance]

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End of load reduction in South Africa: Eskom has targeted March 2027 for the complete elimination of load reduction in South Africa after reducing the number of customers affected by 94%, with 1.6 million customers restored to normal supply. The utility said its energy availability factor had reached 68%. [EWN]

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