JOHANNESBURG, Oct 28 (Reuters) – The following scheduled economic events, company announcement, equity and currency market moves may affect South African markets on Monday.

ECONOMIC EVENTS

South Africa’s Johannesburg Stock Exchange will release data on foreigners’ buying and selling of bonds and stocks in the previous week.

South Africa’s government will hold its weekly auction for Treasury bills.

COMPANIES

South African grocery retailer Pick n Pay PIKJ.J reported on Monday a wider half-year loss before tax of 1.1 billion rand ($62 million), as trading losses in its core Pick n Pay business grew 9.1%.

SOUTH AFRICAN MARKETS

South Africa’s rand firmed on Friday, while local investors geared up for the country’s mid-term budget next week.

On the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, the blue-chip Top-40 index closed about 0.1% higher.

GLOBAL MARKETS

The yen hit a three-month low on Monday, as Japan’s ruling party lost its parliamentary majority, while oil tumbled after Israel’s weekend strike on Iran bypassed oil or nuclear targets.

WALL STREET

The Nasdaq ended higher on Friday, driven by megacap shares, as investors awaited quarterly results from some of Wall Street’s biggest companies next week.

GOLD

Gold prices fell on Monday as the U.S. dollar held firm, while investors awaited U.S. economic data for fresh insights on the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy path.

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

BUSINESS DAY

– IMF to assess SA’s growth prospects

– SA and Ukraine to sign visa waiver for diplomatic purposes

– SA needs more prosecutions to combat money laundering, says FATF

(Compiled by Tannur Anders; Editing by Sumana Nandy)