Rand and stocks weaken in early trade

The rand and stocks weakened in early trade on Monday, reversing some of the gains made last week after US jobs data raised hopes the Federal Reserve could soon soften its stance on interest rates.

At 09:19 the rand traded at R18.01 against the dollar.

The decline comes after the currency rose on Friday almost 3%, supported by a softer dollar.

“Although the rand came under significant pressure ahead of the US Fed’s decision to hike interest rates by a further 75 basis points, the local unit regained significant lost ground towards the end of the week,” Nedbank economists wrote in a note.

On the stock market, the Top 40 and the broader all-share indexes were down around 0.3% in early trade.

The government’s benchmark 2030 bond was weaker in early deals, with the yield up 3 basis points to 10.655%.