SA assets crash as Ramaphosa's exit rumours prompt risk spike

The rand and local equities crashed on Thursday, with local bonds having their worst day since 2015, as investors digested news that SA’s political and economic outlook just became far riskier.

The rand fell almost 4% to R17.64/$, while the yield on the local 10-year government bond spiked 91 basis points to 11.71%, an 8% crash, and some local banks fell by almost double digits. 

The rand's loss was the biggest since November 2016. The slump in banking stocks was the worst since April 2020, at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic.