MARKETS WRAP

RAND GAINS, JSE RETREATS

THE RAND firmed on Friday, recovering from a nine-week low after sluggish US employment data pushed the dollar lower and saw demand for emerging markets return.

However, at 5pm, the rand was bid at R14.4326 to the dollar, 4 cents softer than at the same time on Thursday.

The US data showed employers hired far fewer workers than forecast in February, although the jobless rate fell and wages grew more than expected.

A lengthy pause in rate hikes by the Federal Reserve is set to keep demand for emerging markets solid as investors hunt for returns.

The rand had slumped to its weakest since January 3 in the previous session after dovish signals from the European Central Bank and global growth concerns hurt assets perceived as riskier. But it perked up on the weaker dollar, which was down 0.3 percent on Friday afternoon.

Bonds also gained, with the yield on the benchmark 10-year paper down 4 basis points to 8.665 percent.

Stocks ended slightly lower, with Aspen taking a hammering on growing worries about the drugmaker’s debts.

Aspen slumped 28.69 percent to R100.66 on worries about the company’s R54 billion debt pile.

The JSE Top40 index was down 0.87 percent at 49 233.13 points and the broader all share index slipped 0.66 percent to end the session at 55 488.79 percent. I Reuters