JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) -The South African rand was flat on Wednesday as investors maintained a cautious stance ahead of economic data releases and a presidential address to the parliament this week, while stocks rose.
At 1450 GMT, the rand traded at 15.3525 against the dollar, not far from its previous close of 15.3500.
South Africa’s December manufacturing and mining figures will be released on Thursday, and President Cyril Ramaphosa is expected to give his annual State of the Nation Address (SONA), in which he typically announces reforms.
Analysts said the rand was likely to drift around its current levels before the SONA speech, as well as U.S. inflation data on Thursday that could influence the pace of Federal Reserve policy tightening, since both were seen as “risk events”.
The government’s benchmark 2030 bond firmed, with the yield falling 9 basis points to 9.25%.
Stocks rose, with the Johannesburg Stock Exchange’s Top-40 Index rising 0.83% to 70,106 points and the broader All-Share Index climbing 0.78% higher to 76,691 points.
Paper and packaging group Sappi’s shares closed nearly 15% higher as investors cheered its first-quarter results.
(Reporting by Alexander Winning, Olivia Kumwenda-Mtambo and Emma Rumney, editing by Mark Heinrich)
