JOHANNESBURG: South Africa's rand firmed on Tuesday, buoyed by positive sentiment towards emerging markets assets, while Ascendis Health led stocks higher after announcing European acquisitions.
At 1510 GMT, the rand traded at 15.6400 per dollar, 0.51 percent firmer from its New York close on Monday.
"It's a general risk-on thing. The Turkish (lira) led the way after the reappointment of Turkish cabinet," Rand Merchant Bank rand trader Jim Bryson said.
Turkey's lira bounced off near four-month lows after investor-friendly deputy prime minister Mehmet Simsek kept his post in government.
Ascendis Health was the top gainer on the All-Share index after the company said it bought two European companies as part of its plan to expand globally and diversify its pharmaceutical products.
Shares in Ascendis surged 11 percent to 24.80 rand.
The financial sector saw a recovery with investors returning to banking stocks on attractive valuations.
"Now we are seeing a bit of recovery in banks and they did get to levels where from an valuation point started to look attractive," said Afrifocus portfolio manager Ferdi Heyneke.
Johannesburg-listed financial services company Old Mutual climbed 5.46 percent to 40.19 rand, Coronation Fund Managers rose 4.74 percent to 69.40 rand, while Standard Bank increased 1.54 percent to 121.41 rand.
The benchmark Top-40 index climbed 1.07 percent to 47,033 points while the All-Share index rose 0.8 percent to 53,050 points.
Government bonds weakened, and the yield for the benchmark instrument due in 2026 added 5 basis points to 9.45 percent.
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