JOHANNESBURG: South Africa's rand rose to its firmest in four months and stocks gained on Tuesday as increased risk appetite lifted emerging markets.
By 1550 GMT the rand had gained 1.12 percent to 14.3050, easing back slightly after racing to 14.1900 in early trade as commodity assets gained on higher oil prices.
"It's broadly a risk-on environment that the rand is benefiting from," said currency strategist at Absa Capital Mike Keenan.
Government bonds were also firmer, with the benchmark paper due in 2026 cutting 9 basis points to 8.895 percent, its lowest level since early December.
The rand has gained more than 5 percent against the dollar in the last two weeks, breaking through key resistance at 14.46, opening the door to a rally to the next technical milestone at 14.20.
Bets that March consumer inflation figures would come in lower than forecast after spiking to a seven-year high in the previous month also soothed demand for the currency, Keenan said, adding that the futures market was also scaling back its interest rate hike expectations.
Statistics South Africa publishes March inflation data on Wednesday at 0800 GMT.
On the bourse, stocks were led higher by Pioneer Foods which soared as it flagged higher first-half profits.
Pioneer Foods said headline earnings per share was expected to be up by as much as 66 percent, boosted by a cash injection from a black empowerment deal.
The broader All-Share Index went up 0.4 percent to 53,380 points while the benchmark Top-40 index rose 0.31 percent to 47,125 points.
Upbeat metal prices pushed up Johannesburg-listed shares of Anglo American and BHP Billiton as the U.S. dollar weakened after housing data came in below forecast.
Anglo American rose 6.24 percent to 151.12 rand while BHP added 4.36 percent to 197.16 rand, as silver, gold and platinum jumped.
Trade was slow, according to preliminary bourse data, with about 228 million shares changing hands. This was less than last year's daily average of 280 million shares.
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