STOCKS AND MARKETS |

THE RAND firmed yesterday, tracking its emerging market peers after comments from US President Donald Trump spurred hopes of a resolution to the trade dispute between the US and China.

At 5pm, the rand bid at R14.7282 to the dollar, 5 cents stronger than at the same time on Tuesday. The unit is often considered one of the most liquid currencies in emerging markets and susceptible to global signals.

Trump said on Tuesday the US and China were close to agreement on the first phase of a trade deal and that Washington was in the “final throes” of work that would defuse a 16-month trade war with Beijing.

“With ‘great steps’ being made with the trade deal and phase one almost done according to sources, we have seen risk-on sentiment coming to the fore and risky assets such as the equity and EM markets,” Andre Botha, senior currency dealer at TreasuryONE, said in a note.

“While the good news is welcome, we feel that unless the first phase of the deal is signed there is still a lot of risks that someone could do a U-turn on the deal, which could see a swift return to volatility in the market.”

In fixed income, the benchmark government issue due in 2026 dipped 4.5 basis points to 8.43 percent.

On the bourse, stocks also inched up on the improved sentiment.

The benchmark JSE Top40 index rose 0.18 percent to 49 910.57 points while the broader all share index also advanced 0.21 percent to 56 173.86 points.

Dual-listed stocks were the biggest winners on the blue-chip index, with bank Investec plc up 4.27 percent to R84.98 and British American

Tobacco up 2.69 percent to R582.36. Retailer Woolworths was down 4.85 percent to R54 after reporting that sales at its struggling clothing brand David Jones had declined by 2.1 percent amidst tough trading conditions in Australia.

Investment firm Brait tumbled 11.82 percent to R14.55 after announcing a recapitalisation plan to tackle unsustainable debt that would include issuing £150 million (R2.8 billion) of convertible bonds.