RAND LEADS GAINS, STOCKS UP

EMERGING market stocks bounced back yesterday on hopes of a coronavirus vaccine, while the high-yielding rand led gains among developing world currencies.

At 5pm, the rand bid at R16.53 to the dollar, 25 cents stronger than at the same time on Tuesday.

Among currencies, the rand gained as investors continued to hunt for value in the high-yielding currency.

Consumer inflation data for SA showed a core reading of 3.1 percent year-on-year in May, compared with 3.2 percent in April.

The equities market was also rose, with the JSE blue-chip Top40 index up 0.73 percent at 51606.7 points while the all share index closed 0.75 percent higher at 55947.05 points.

The MSCI’s index of emerging markets stocks rose 0.6 percent after clocking its worst day in nearly a month in the previous session.

Markets in Asia and Europe remained optimistic about Moderna’s experimental vaccine for Covid-19, with the drugmaker on Tuesday saying it was safe and provoked immune responses in all 45 healthy volunteers in an ongoing early-stage study.

“The sentiment pendulum is positioned to swing deeper into ‘risk-on’ territory as markets take heart from vaccine hopes and expectations of further stimulus for pandemic-hit economies,” said Lukman Otunuga, senior research analyst at FXTM.

However, gains were limited by simmering US-China tensions after US President Donald Trump on Tuesday ordered an end to Hong Kong’s special status under US law to punish China for what he called “oppressive actions” against the former British colony, prompting Beijing to warn of retaliatory sanctions.

The Hungarian forint gained the most among its central and eastern European peers. The Russian rouble firmed against the dollar. I Reuters