EM CURRENCIES RETREAT

EMERGING market stocks and currencies rose on Monday as Joe Biden clinching the U.S. presidency increased hopes of a less adversarial U.S. trade policy, with the lira leading gains after a large shake-up in Turkey’s top economic policymakers.

At 5pm the rand bid at R15.33, 43 cents firmer than at the same time on Friday.

On the JSE the all share index rose 1.63 percent to 57 307.49 points while the Top40 closed 1.56 percent stronger at 52 684. 37 points.

The U.S. dollar sank to a 10-week low after Biden was declared as the winner over the weekend, while China’s yuan and the Mexican peso - both recent targets of U.S. trade pressure - marked strong gains.

Turkey’s lira was the best performing currency for the day, jumping as much as 4% off a record low after the central bank’s newly-installed governor Naci Agbal vowed to “decisively” use all policy tools to rein in elevated inflation levels.

Agbal replaced Murat Uysal, who was fired by Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan after barely more than a year in office. In another announcement, Finance Minister Berat Albayrak said on Sunday he was resigning for health reasons.

The moves came in the wake of steep declines in the lira due to concerns over dwindling foreign exchange reserves, double-digit inflation and strains in Turkey’s relationship with its NATO allies.

While expectations of a rate hike saw the lira set for its best day in nearly two years, analysts questioned the implications of Usyal’s ouster on central bank independence.

Other currencies in Europe, Middle East and Africa marked small gains, while stocks rallied.

In Asia, China’s yuan jumped to a more than 28-month high to the dollar after a change in U.S. leadership. I Reuters