RAND, STOCKS RETAIN GAINS

THE RAND firmed yesterday, holding on to gains from the previous session as signs of progress in Russia-Ukraine peace talks lifted risk appetite.

At 5pm, the rand bid at R14.45 to the dollar, about 0.4 percent firmer than Tuesday’s close, and extending a five-month high hit on Friday.

Negotiators from Russia and Ukraine met in Turkey late on Tuesday to discuss a peace deal, where Russia promised to scale down military operations around Kyiv and another city, and Ukraine proposed adopting a neutral status.

This supported riskier but high-yielding emerging market assets including the rand and dragged on the dollar as investors felt less in need of a safe-haven.

The rand has strengthened almost 10 percent this year, making it one of the best performing emerging market currencies, according to Refinitiv data, as it benefits from rising commodity prices alongside other exporters including Angola, Brazil and Chile.

“The rand has managed to hold its ground, despite ongoing geopolitical issues,” RMB analysts said in a note.

Data showed on Tuesday that South Africa’s unemployment rate rose to a record high of 35.3 percent in the fourth quarter of 2021 as sectors such as manufacturing and construction shed jobs.

Government bond prices dropped, with the yield on the benchmark 2030 maturity advancing 8.5 basis points to 9.59 percent, after falling earlier in the day.

The JSE blue-chip Top40 index rose 0.91 percent to 68 529.72 points and the broader all share index climbed 0.87 percent to 75 425.31 points.

Miners pulled the blue-chip index higher, bolstered by rising prices of precious metals such as gold and platinum.

Northam Platinum led the gainers, up 8.92 percent, followed by Impala Platinum, Sibanye-Stillwater and Anglo American Platinum, which gained 6.68 percent, 6 percent and 5.83 percent, respectively. I Reuters