S&P 500 Powers Through 2600

Long queues began forming by Thursday afternoon outside of most major retailers as shoppers got ready for Black Friday, while online sales also exhibiting a robust opening.

Figures from Adobe Analytics revealed that US consumers spent a record $7.90 billion in digital shopping on Black Friday and Thanksgiving, an increase of 17.90% from a year earlier. On the economic data front, a November survey of purchasing managers showed that the private sector grew at its slowest clip in four months. The IHS Markit Flash Manufacturing PMI slipped to 53.8 in November from 54.6 in October, while the Services PMI gauge fell to 54.3 from 54.6 in the prior month. S&P 500 futures rose 0.20% to finish Friday at 2,601, with all the three major US equity benchmarks notching their first weekly gain in three weeks.

In another blow to the South African outlook, S&P revised their local currency debt rating to “junk” status on Friday after underscoring the country's outlook amid political development and stagnant economic activity.  S&P also slashed the rating on South Africa’s international debt by one notch, to ‘BB’ from ‘BB+', pushing it further into junk territory. The credit rating downgrade comes after Finance Minister Malusi Gigaba took investors by surprise last month by outlining a weaker growth outlook amid expanding government debt due to a widening budget gap.

Economic growth has decelerated notably, with business and consumer sentiment plunging to multi-decade lows amid heightened political uncertainty. Furthermore, plans to elect a replacement for current President Jacob Zuma next month at the African National Congress party meeting has also sunk investor confidence. The decision sent the USDZAR pair surging by close to 2.00% on Friday, with the pair trading modestly higher after the weekly reopening.