SOUTH AFRICA: Presidential Spokesman Says Ramaphosa Will Announce Election Date By Feb 23

Feb-07 10:32

President Cyril Ramaphosa will announce the date for the upcoming general and provincial elections within 15 days from tomorrow's State of the Nation Address (SONA), his spokesman Vincent Magwenya tells reporters.

  • Magwenya notes that there is "no delay" as the announcement must be made at least 90 days before the elections take place.
  • The spokesman says that tomorrow's SONA is a special one, as South Africa celebrates 30 years of its democracy and the final year of the sixth administration.

Historical bullets

OPTIONS: Expiries for Jan08 NY cut 1000ET (Source DTCC)

Jan-08 10:24
  • EUR/USD: $1.1130-45(E943mln)
  • USD/JPY: Y144.46-55($560mln)
  • AUD/USD: $0.6620-40(A$1.1bln), $0.6725(A$633mln)

CHINA STOCKS: Fresh Multi-Year Lows For CSI 300

Jan-08 10:13

MNI (London) - Weakness in Chinese & HK equities stands out on Monday, with the CSI -1.3% and the Hang Seng -1.9%.

  • HSI bears target the Dec ’23 lows, while the CSI 300 looked through its own late ’23 base, with the index hitting the lowest level seen since ’19.
  • We flag several potential drivers for the broader move lower:
  • Zhongzhi’s bankruptcy news from late last week.
  • Late in the day RTRS sources suggested that “China's securities regulator is allowing mutual fund managers to sell more shares than they buy each day, removing a ban introduced late last year aimed at propping up a flagging stock market.”
  • Local reports pointing to Chinese authorities tightening scrutiny of offshore borrowing on the part of LGFVs. This contributes a portion of the pressure stemming from continued worry re: well-known areas of economic risk.
  • Continued tension with the U.S. re: trade matters.
  • Some desks pointed to CBBC hedging-related weakness in HK.
  • More granularly, news surrounding a criminal probe at Evergrande NEV will have had a negative impact on sentiment.
  • JD Logistics struggled on the back of a price target downgrade at a brokerage.
  • CICC led mainland brokerage names lower as a major shareholder outlined a plan to cut its stake in the name.
  • Conversely, Morgan Stanley’s outlook for screen display producers supported that space.
  • HK-China Stock Connect flows generated ~CNY4.3bn of net sales for mainland equities.

EGB SYNDICATION: Belgium 10-year mandate

Jan-08 10:10
  • "The Kingdom of Belgium (rated Aa3/AA/AA-; outlook stable/stable/negative) intends to issue a new EURO syndicated benchmark bond maturing 22 October 2034 (OLO 100) in the near future , subject to market. The Kingdom has mandated Barclays, BNP Paribas Fortis, Crédit Agricole CIB, J.P. Morgan and Natixis as joint bookrunners."
  • "The OLO auction scheduled for 29 January 2024 is cancelled."

From market source

  • As MNI noted last week: We expect a 10-year Belgian OLO with issue sizes generally ranging from E5-7bln. MNI expects the top half of this range (or potentially even a little larger).