JOHANNESBURG, Dec 2 (Reuters) – The following scheduled economic events, company announcements, equity and currency market moves may affect South African markets on Monday.

ECONOMIC EVENTS

South Africa manufacturing sector PMI

Foreigners’ trading in South African bonds and equities

South African T-bill auction

South Africa monthly vehicle sales data

COMPANIES

Naspers/Prosus half-year results

SOUTH AFRICAN MARKETS

South Africa’s rand firmed on Friday, despite a slew of month-end local economic data releases which painted a mixed picture.

On the stock market, the Top-40 index closed 0.33% lower.

GLOBAL MARKETS

Asian stocks climbed on Monday, buoyed by record high closes on Wall Street, while the dollar bounced back from multiweek lows against the yen and British pound in a crucial week for the U.S. interest rate outlook.

WALL STREET

The S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average notched record closing highs in a shortened Black Friday session, lifted by technology stocks such as Nvidia, while retail was in focus as the holiday shopping season kicked off.

GOLD

Gold prices snapped a four-session rally to fall on Monday, pressured by a firmer U.S. dollar and profit-taking, while investors awaited key U.S. economic data for cues on the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy outlook. 

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Some of the main stories out in the South African press:

BUSINESS DAY

– Invicta not deterred from offshore strategy despite forex hits

– Nampak’s turnaround strategy bears fruit

FIN 24

– Disaster averted for vast majority of prepaid meter users in SA

(Compiled by Bhargav Acharya)