MARKETS WRAP

SOUTH Africa’s rand weakened yesterday, with traders sceptical about comments by President Donald Trump expressing hope for a possible US-China trade deal just days after the two countries raised tariffs against each other. South African stocks ended slightly higher.

At 5pm the rand was at 15.3301 per dollar.

The rand strengthened earlier in the session on improved risk appetite, after Trump said on Monday that Chinese officials had contacted US trade counterparts overnight and offered to return to the negotiating table. However, doubts crept in after a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said that he was unaware that a phone call had taken place.

Investors were wary about the next bout of volatility and a potential emerging market-wide sell-off.

“We continue to believe that the rand will remain volatile, and have revised down the expected case forecast for a somewhat more depreciated level as global trade tensions have worsened, and show little chance of resolving in the near term,” said chief economist at Investec Annabel Bishop.

In equities, the broader All-Share index was up 0.16 percent to 53 896 points, while the benchmark Top-40 index gained 0.22 percent to 48 148 points.

Shares in Imperial

8.9 percent to R51.86.

Bonds firmed, with the yield on the benchmark government paper due in 2026 falling 4.5 basis points to 8.22 percent.

Logistics

gained