South African Markets - Factors to watch on Feb 24

JOHANNESBURG, Feb 24 (Reuters) - The following scheduled economic events, company announcements, equity and currency market moves may affect South African markets on Friday. ECONOMIC EVENTS Inflation-linked bond auction Treasury bill auction COMPANIES South African state power utility Eskom said on Friday that it had appointed Calib Cassim as its interim chief executive, after Andre de Ruyter left the company. SOUTH AFRICAN MARKETS The South African rand edged lower against the U.S. dollar on Thursday, losing all the ground gained in response to the finance minister's budget speech the previous day. Shares on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange rose, with both the broader all-share index and top-40 index closing up about 1.1%. GLOBAL MARKETS Asian markets breathed a sigh of relief on Friday as the incoming head of Japan's central bank soothed fears of an early end to super-easy monetary policy, nudging bond yields lower globally. WALL STREET Wall Street ended a topsy-turvy Thursday in positive territory, with the S&P 500 snapping a four-session losing streak, as investors grappled with how interest rate policy might affect the U.S. economy. GOLD Gold prices rose on Friday as the dollar weakened, though investor worries that recent economic data could lead the U.S. Federal Reserve to keep raising interest rates capped gains. EMERGING MARKETS For the top emerging markets news, double click on - - - -

Some of the main stories out in the South African press: BUSINESS DAY - Treasury does not support state monopoly in energy sector, says David Masondo (Compiled by Anait Miridzhanian)