UPDATE 1-South Africa's rand slips as dollar gains, stocks firm over 1%

  • Reuters
  • Forex News
UPDATE 1-South Africa's rand slips as dollar gains, stocks firm over 1%
Credit: © Reuters.

(Updates rand , bonds; adds stocks)

JOHANNESBURG, Feb 4 (Reuters) - South Africa's rand weakened on Thursday, backtracking for the first time this week, as data pointing to an improvement in the U.S. economic outlook lifted the dollar.

At 1500 GMT, the rand ZAR=D3 was 0.95% weaker at 15.0825 against the U.S. dollar.

In previous sessions, the rand was supported by the global search for yield by investors unsure of the direction of lending rates in developed economies. The currency gained more than 1.5% in the first three days of the week.

But on Thursday, a stronger dollar weighed on the rand. no local data due the rest of the week and U.S. non-farm payrolls set for release on Friday, traders expect the rand to trade in a narrow range.

"The USD-ZAR has traded with a topside tilt overnight, with momentum having shifted after the pair was unable to sustain a break below the 14.9000 support level yesterday," economists at ETM Analytics said in a note.

"The pair looks comfortable pivoting around 15.0000 for now, and may need a strong catalyst to break out of this pattern."

Stocks firmed, led by consumer facing stocks and banking and financial stocks as investors looked to eased lockdown restrictions to help the retail, restaurant and hospitality sectors.

Leading the gainers, hotel and casino owner Sun International SUIJ.J shot up 11.90% and general retailers .JGERE rose 3.89%, while the financial index .JFINI increased 2.99%.

Energy and chemicals company Sasol Ltd SOLJ.J jumped 4.64%, while mobile network operator MTN Group MTNJ ).J, which has operations in Nigeria, rose 4.50%, benefiting from higher oil prices.

The Johannesburg All-Share index .JALSH closed the session 1.23% firmer at 63,786 points, while the Top-40 index .JTOPI rose 1.15% to 58,493 points.

In fixed income, the yield on the benchmark 2030 government issue ZAR2030= was down 0.5 basis point to 8.45%.

Add Chart to Comment

Comment Guidelines

We encourage you to use comments to engage with users, share your perspective and ask questions of authors and each other. However, in order to maintain the high level of discourse we’ve all come to value and expect, please keep the following criteria in mind: 

  • Enrich the conversation
  • Stay focused and on track. Only post material that’s relevant to the topic being discussed.
  • Be respectful. Even negative opinions can be framed positively and diplomatically.
  •  Use standard writing style. Include punctuation and upper and lower cases.
  • NOTE: Spam and/or promotional messages and links within a comment will be removed
  • Avoid profanity, slander or personal attacks directed at an author or another user.
  • Don’t Monopolize the Conversation. We appreciate passion and conviction, but we also believe strongly in giving everyone a chance to air their thoughts. Therefore, in addition to civil interaction, we expect commenters to offer their opinions succinctly and thoughtfully, but not so repeatedly that others are annoyed or offended. If we receive complaints about individuals who take over a thread or forum, we reserve the right to ban them from the site, without recourse.
  • Only English comments will be allowed.

Perpetrators of spam or abuse will be deleted from the site and prohibited from future registration at Investing.com’s discretion.

Drop an image here or Supported formats: *.jpg, *.png, *.gif up to 5mb

Error: File type not supported

Drop an image here or

100
Please try another search
  • Munashe Masaze @Munashe Masaze
    he's
    Like 0
    • Munashe Masaze @Munashe Masaze
      I need 30000 right now
      Like 0

      • Comment Guidelines

      We encourage you to use comments to engage with users, share your perspective and ask questions of authors and each other. However, in order to maintain the high level of discourse we’ve all come to value and expect, please keep the following criteria in mind: 

      • Enrich the conversation
      • Stay focused and on track. Only post material that’s relevant to the topic being discussed.
      • Be respectful. Even negative opinions can be framed positively and diplomatically.
      •  Use standard writing style. Include punctuation and upper and lower cases.
      • NOTE: Spam and/or promotional messages and links within a comment will be removed
      • Avoid profanity, slander or personal attacks directed at an author or another user.
      • Don’t Monopolize the Conversation. We appreciate passion and conviction, but we also believe strongly in giving everyone a chance to air their thoughts. Therefore, in addition to civil interaction, we expect commenters to offer their opinions succinctly and thoughtfully, but not so repeatedly that others are annoyed or offended. If we receive complaints about individuals who take over a thread or forum, we reserve the right to ban them from the site, without recourse.
      • Only English comments will be allowed.

      Perpetrators of spam or abuse will be deleted from the site and prohibited from future registration at Investing.com’s discretion.

      Drop an image here or Supported formats: *.jpg, *.png, *.gif up to 5mb

      Error: File type not supported

      Drop an image here or

      100
      Please try another search
  • Messiah Mabugu @Messiah Mabugu
    How long does the Rand maintain this firmness? at least for the week?
    Like 1
  • Messiah Mabugu @Messiah Mabugu
    on point
    Like 1
    • Qeerroo Walloo @Qeerroo Walloo
      ✅✅✅✅🌹🌹
      Like 0

      • Comment Guidelines

      We encourage you to use comments to engage with users, share your perspective and ask questions of authors and each other. However, in order to maintain the high level of discourse we’ve all come to value and expect, please keep the following criteria in mind: 

      • Enrich the conversation
      • Stay focused and on track. Only post material that’s relevant to the topic being discussed.
      • Be respectful. Even negative opinions can be framed positively and diplomatically.
      •  Use standard writing style. Include punctuation and upper and lower cases.
      • NOTE: Spam and/or promotional messages and links within a comment will be removed
      • Avoid profanity, slander or personal attacks directed at an author or another user.
      • Don’t Monopolize the Conversation. We appreciate passion and conviction, but we also believe strongly in giving everyone a chance to air their thoughts. Therefore, in addition to civil interaction, we expect commenters to offer their opinions succinctly and thoughtfully, but not so repeatedly that others are annoyed or offended. If we receive complaints about individuals who take over a thread or forum, we reserve the right to ban them from the site, without recourse.
      • Only English comments will be allowed.

      Perpetrators of spam or abuse will be deleted from the site and prohibited from future registration at Investing.com’s discretion.

      Drop an image here or Supported formats: *.jpg, *.png, *.gif up to 5mb

      Error: File type not supported

      Drop an image here or

      100
      Please try another search