Rand slightly weaker, stocks set to open lower

The rand weakened slightly against the dollar in early trade on Monday as market participants awaited a raft of local and global economic events in the week.

At 0645 GMT, the rand traded at 13.20 per dollar, 0.21% weaker than its close on Friday.

Statistics South Africa releases second-quarter unemployment figures on Tuesday.

South Africa’s June trade balance data also due on Tuesday.

Focus will also be on wage talks at power utility Eskom as some workers picketing at power stations on Monday over the wage impasse.

Read: Eskom workers down tools at several power stations – union source

On the global front, eyes on key central bank meetings. In focus include the Bank of Japan, which ends a two-day meeting on Tuesday, and the Federal Reserve, which concludes its policy meeting on Wednesday. The Bank of England also makes a policy decision on Thursday.

Stocks were set to open lower at 0700 GMT, with the JSE securities exchange’s Top 40 futures Index down 0.7%.

In fixed income, the yield for the benchmark paper due in 2026 was up 1.5 basis points to 8.6%.