Chinese carmakers under fire in South Africa, and Nvidia kisses $200 billion goodbye

The rand was trading at R16.51 against the US dollar on the morning of Wednesday, 11 November 2026, weaker than the day before.

Domestic shares finished Tuesday lower, with the JSE All Share Index slipping 0.30% and the Top 40 Index down 0.33%.

South Africa’s official unemployment rate rose to 33.7% in the third quarter of 2026 from 33.6%, while the expanded measure rose to 44.0%.

Manufacturing production fell 3.5% year-on-year in September, extending August’s revised contraction of 4.1%.

On Wall Street, equities declined as October’s inflation figures strengthened expectations for further Federal Reserve rate tightening.

Consumer prices rose 0.4%, exceeding the 0.3% forecast after a 0.6% increase in September. Markets have priced in an 11.8% chance of a half-point increase.

The Nasdaq led the decline at 0.74%, followed by the S&P 500 at 0.38% and the Dow Jones at 0.30%.

In Europe, banking shares helped indices advance amid cheaper oil and reduced expectations of US strikes on Iran, with the STOXX 600 gaining 0.27%.

Bank of England Deputy Governor Clare Lombardelli warned that persistent inflation could necessitate another rate increase in December or February 2027.

Asian markets strengthened, with the Nikkei 225 up 2.87% as Japanese manufacturing confidence improved due to semiconductor demand.

The Reuters Tankan index reached plus-27 in October, its highest level since August 2021, while non-manufacturing confidence climbed to its strongest level in 8 years.

In commodities, threats to energy infrastructure led oil prices to rebound after hitting two-month lows, with prices now hovering around $92 per barrel.

Gold moved higher after losing nearly 3% as US inflation heightened expectations of further Fed rate tightening, now sitting at $4,052.27 per ounce.

On Wednesday morning, the rand was trading at R16.51 to the US dollar, R18.42 to the euro, and R22.04 to the British pound.

Important finance and investing news

OpenAI continues to lose: OpenAI grew revenue by roughly 50% to $10 billion between the second and third quarters, but the company continues to report heavy operating losses in its attempt to catch up to its biggest rival and market leader, Anthropic. [Wall Street Journal]

---

Chinese carmakers under fire in South Africa: Chinese carmakers are coming under increased scrutiny in South Africa following a recall of thousands of Chery and Omoda vehicles. The Chery Group has been criticised for not making past recalls public by failing to report them to the NCC. [BusinessDay]

---

Nvidia kisses $200 billion goodbye: Nvidia’s share price plummeted on Monday after revelations about CEO Jensen Huang’s affair with a suspected Chinese spy, causing the company to lose more than $200 billion in market value in one day. Shares fell as much as 8% in early trade before paring back to 4%. [Yahoo Finance]

---

South Korea’s record $1.2 billion fine: South Korea’s antitrust regulator has imposed a record 1.63 trillion won ($1.2 billion) fine on over a dozen domestic banks and brokerages for colluding in sovereign bond auctions. The watchdog said this undermined competition and raised borrowing costs. [Bloomberg]

---

TFG closes 178 stores: The Foschini Group has closed 178 underperforming stores, bringing its total footprint across Africa, the United Kingdom, and Australia down to 4,807 stores. The company said its online platform, Bash, is driving sales, but the operating environment remains uncertain. [The Citizen]

---