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Good morning Voornaam,

My feed on X (Twitter) was abuzz yesterday with the NVIDIA share price, which fell 7% on the day. This takes the correction in the past month to over 16.5%, yet it remains 120% up on the levels a year ago. Certainly a fun chart to watch, especially for traders.

Speaking of that, Episode 3 of The Trader's Handbook with IG Markets South Africa has been published this morning. In the show, we review some of the trades in my demo account, including Mr Price, Richemont and Prosus. We also discussed how to go about choosing a brokerage account, along with many other elements of trading. If you've always felt a bit jealous of those who can profit from volatility, not just stock picking over the longer term, then why not learn about trading and potentially open a demo account? If you never try, you'll never know. Listen to episode 3 at this link>>>

Speaking of Mr Price, this was one of the companies I covered in the latest Ghost Wrap podcast. Along with their organic sales growth (or relative lack thereof), I delved into Balwin's rental strategy, the growth troubles at British American Tobacco and the African currency impact at Vodacom. With thanks to Forvis Mazars for making it possible, you'll find it here>>>

Moving on, the highlight on SENS yesterday had to be the numbers from Shoprite. They are still growing at double digits, which really is impressive. As for Sixty60, the scooters continue to act as the country's most valuable army of mobile billboards. The retailer's strategy is paying off and you'll see that in Ghost Bites this morning, along with mining news from BHP, Glencore and Merafe, as well as deal news from Zeder. Get it all here>>>

Enjoy learning more about the markets this morning!

FEATURED: The Trader's Handbook Ep 3 (NEW)

IG Markets Episode 3: For a review of the trades in my demo account and a discussion on how to choose the right brokerage, I was joined as usual by Shaun Murison of IG Markets South Africa. Learn about trading at this link>>>

FEATURED: Ghost Wrap

Ghost Wrap: Get the latest on Balwin, British American Tobacco, Mr Price and Vodacom, all in just a few minutes in the Ghost Wrap podcast.

FEATURED: Investec Structured Products new product applications close on 8 August

Investec Structured Products: Applications for the Nikkei 225 Autocall and Euro Stoxx 50 Autocall close on 8 August. Don't miss the opportunity to learn about these offshore investment opportunities.

FEATURED: Brick by brick, a private company masterpiece

Dominique Olivier: It turns out that everyone's favourite brickmaker has quite the back story, including a wonderful tale of family legacy and the need to innovate to survive. Get the story of Lego here.

Local company news:

Ghost Bites: Get the latest on Shoprite, BHP, Glencore, Merafe and Zeder in Ghost Bites here>>>

Unlock the Stock: Attacq and Capital Appreciation returned to Unlock the Stock to present the recent numbers and take questions from the attendees of the live event. Learn about both companies by watching the recording here>>>

Podcasts:

Magic Markets: Even down here in South Africa, we need to keep a close eye on US elections. In this podcast, Mohammed Nalla shared his views on Democrat vs. Republican policies and how they can impact us, along with how the Trump Trade works. Find it here.

Investec No Ordinary Wednesday podcast: The market may be unpredictable, but your investment strategy doesn’t have to be. Investec Investment Management experts share their insights on what approaches are winning, common mistakes investors make, and why staying the course is important. Enjoy it here>>>

International Business Snippet:

Here's one for the coffee lovers: a revenue miss by Starbucks. And in China, same-store sales dropped by 14%, so at this point the China story is just going from bad to worse for consumer brands. If McDonald's is struggling to sell cheap burgers, then premium coffee certainly isn't going to be easy.

At least they managed to meet estimates on earnings, coming in at 93 cents per share. Admittedly, that's on an adjusted basis, which is always something to be careful of. The share price finished after-hours trading up 3.6% as the market reacted to the news.

Hysterically, if you just took yesterday as a snapshot, this means Starbucks punters were far better off than NVIDIA holders. Gotta love the markets. You've also gotta love daily volatility!

Our latest Magic Markets Premium report covers CrowdStrike, which is highly topical after a software update broke Windows computers. Having shed a quarter of its value in the past week, is it a buy at these levels? To get access to this research and the rest of the vast library, subscribe to the platform here.

IG Morning Call: daily macroeconomic update

While US markets were lower overnight following Microsoft results, index futures are suggesting a rebound this morning. The move could however caution into tonight’s Federal Reserve policy meeting.

The Bank of Japan raised lending rates more than expected and revealed plans to further taper stimulus within the region. The news has seen the Japanese Yen strengthen while the dollar has softened.

The softer dollar sees some improvement in the rand which now trades well off its worst levels of the week.

The JSE All-Share Index is expected to open firmer this morning as global equity markets look set to rebound in early trade.

Oil prices have bounced off their lowest levels since early June following news of a US strike on Iraq.

Gold has gained as the dollar weakened and geopolitical tension increased.

Key Indicators: USD/ZAR R18.27/$ | US 10yr 4.14% | Gold $2,416/oz | Platinum $967/oz | Brent Crude $79.37

The macroeconomic update is based on IG's morning call update