Rand continues to slide amid global crisis

The Rand was bid at R14.6781 to the euro from a previous R14.8516 and at R18.6762 against sterling from R18.8490 before.

The euro was bid at US$1.2807 from $1.2827 overnight, while gold was quoted at $727.05 from $728.85/oz overnight.

Several factors are weighing on the rand - falling equities, weaker commodity prices, the soaring US dollar and emerging market risk aversion.

On Wednesday, Wall Street suffered another heavy sell-off on increasing concerns about global economic recession and weak corporate earning outlook.

All major indexes plunged more than 4% while the Dow Jones average declined more than 500 points.

Commodity producers led the decline, as investors were concerned about weak global economy will slash demand for commodities.

Exxon Mobil and Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. tumbled as crude fell below $67 a barrel and copper price slid.

Wachovia, which is being bought by Wells Fargo & Co., reported its third straight quarterly loss of $23.9 billion due to crumbling mortgage markets and write-downs on securities backed by real estate.

Boeing Co. reported profit fell 38% after a strike by machinists halted aircraft deliveries.

Merck & Co., the third-largest US drugmaker, said its quarterly profit fell 28% and that it would cut more than 10% of its work force.

Shares of SanDisk dived after Samsung Electronics Co. walked away from a bid for the company.

In other corporate news, AT&T Inc., the largest US phone company, posted a 5.5% gain in third-quarter profit because of strong sales of iPhones.

Apple Inc. posted soaring iPhone sales lifted profit and Chief Executive Officer Steve Jobs said customers will stay loyal in a recession.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 514.45, or 5.69%, to 8,519.21, after declining as much as 698 points.

The Standard &Poor's 500 index fell 58.27, or 6.10%, to 896.78, and the Nasdaq composite index fell 80.93, or 4.77%, to 1,615.75.

Article published courtesy of BuaNews-Xinhua