Rand flat in early trade; stocks slide

The rand was flat early on Friday, as investors were reluctant to price more risk into local markets.

At 10:00, the rand traded at R18.26 against the dollar.

“The rand has stabilised and has recovered once more from its weakest levels for the second consecutive trading session, while bonds have similarly recovered some lost ground,” ETM Analytics said in a note.

Global watchdog the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), which sets standards on combating money laundering and illicit financing, could add South Africa to its “grey list” on Friday.

Being added to that list would be a reputational knock for South Africa and could hurt local asset prices, as grey-listed countries are subject to greater monitoring by the FATF on concern that they are at higher risk for money laundering and terrorist financing.

On the stock market, the Top 40 index and the broader all-share fell around 0.7% in early trade.

The government’s benchmark 2030 bond was stronger in early deals, with the yield down 6 basis points to 10.055%.