JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) -South Africa’s rand, stocks and bonds firmed on Tuesday on positive noises coming from Turkey where Russia and Ukraine made some progress in peace talks.
During talks between negotiators in Istanbul, Russia promised to scale down military operations around Kyiv and northern Ukraine as a confidence-building step.
Ukraine for its part proposed adopting neutral status in the most detailed formula yet for a potential settlement to the five-week conflict.
South African assets firmed alongside global stocks and emerging market currencies, with the rand trading at 14.5535 to the dollar, 1.15% stronger at 1545 GMT.
The Johannesburg All-share index rose 0.78% to 74,776 points, while the Top-40 index climbed 0.7% to 67,911 points.
Government bonds also rose, with the yield on the instrument due in 2030 down 1.5 basis points to 9.505%.
“The next couple of days could be crucial but the signs are promising which we’re seeing reflected in the markets today,” Craig Erlam, senior market analyst at OANDA said.
“There has been no shortage of optimism in the markets since the talks began, which has looked premature at times but may now be paying off.”
(Reporting by Nqobile Dludla; Editing by Shailesh Kuber)
