South African Markets - Factors to watch on April 3

JOHANNESBURG, April 3 (Reuters) - The following scheduled economic event, equity and currency market moves may affect South African markets on Thursday.

ECONOMIC EVENTS

Finance minister responds to questions in parliament on his budget speech

SOUTH AFRICAN MARKETS

The South African rand dropped sharply on Wednesday as a fractious budget vote threw into doubt the solidity of the coalition government.

The Johannesburg Stock Exchange's Top-40 index .JTOPI closed down 0.9%. .JZAR/

GLOBAL MARKETS

Stocks dived and investors scrambled to the safety of bonds, gold and the yen on Thursday as U.S. President Donald Trump unveiled a bigger-than-expected wall of tariffs around the world's largest economy, upending trade and supply chains. MKTS/GLOB

WALL STREET

U.S. stock indexes finished higher after a choppy trading session on Wednesday, falling early and then rebounding as investors made last-minute bets to position themselves ahead of U.S. President Donald Trump's sweeping tariff announcements. .N

GOLD

Jittery investors flocked to safe-haven assets on Thursday and pushed gold to a record high after U.S. President Donald Trump unleashed more aggressive-than-expected import tariffs, kicking into higher gear an already heated global trade war.GOL/

EMERGING MARKETS

For the top emerging markets news, double click on nTOPEMRG

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Some of the main stories out in the South African press:

BUSINESS DAY

- DA budget rebellion leaves GNU on shaky ground

FIN 24

- Trump targets South African exports with 30% tariffs

- VAT hike, 'bracket creep' to be tabled on Friday, says Godongwana