MARKET WRAP: Rand and JSE firm after MPC holds rates

The rand recouped earlier losses Thursday after the Reserve Bank’s monetary policy committee (MPC) held interest rates steady, while the JSE firmed but closed off the session’s high. 

As widely expected, the MPC kept the repo rate at 8.25% in a unanimous decision. Still, governor Lesetja Kganyago struck a hawkish tone in the wake of Wednesday’s inflation data for October, which revealed that the CPI rose to 5.9% — on the cusp of the upper end of the Bank’s 3%-6% target range…