Rand little changed in light year-end trade, MTN leads stocks higher

South Africa’s rand was largely flat in mid-morning deals on Thursday as traders refrained from making any large moves in light year-end trade.

At 08:41 GMT, the rand traded at 14.4600 versus the dollar, 0.6% stronger than its overnight New York close.

“We can expect some volatility with the rand potentially pulling back to R14.40 as the risk aversion tapers off and the dollar remains under pressure,” said Bianca Botes, corporate treasury manager at Peregrine.

Government bonds also barely moved, with the yield on the benchmark instrument maturing in 2026 down 4 basis points at 8.96%.

Stocks were a touch higher, with the Johannesburg Stock Exchange’s Top-40 index up 0.4% led by MTN Group after the company settled a multibillion dollar dispute with Nigeria. 

Source: moneyweb.co.za