JOHANNESBURG: South Africa's rand retreated on Monday, surrendering recent gains as some investors cashed in profits from the previous week's rally to nine months highs.
Stocks were higher, buoyed mostly by financials shares. By 1530 GMT the rand had slipped 0.22 percent to 13.9200 per dollar, compared to a close at 13.8900 in New York on Friday.
Traders said the rand was likely to resume gains into the week given the current low yield environment where investors were scouring the globe for returns higher than the near-zero rates on offer in developed economies.
"Much of the rand's impetus will be gathered from global happenings, with little to sway the unit locally this week," analysts at Rand Merchant Bank said.
Standard Bank's purchasing managers index (PMI) for July is due on Tuesday, while markets will be closed on Wedensday for local government elections.
Bonds were slightly firmer, with the benchmark paper due in 2026 cutting 0.5 basis points to 8.645 percent. On the bourse, Nedbank rallied to an 8-month high after reporting better than expected results.
The bank reported a slight increase in full-year profit, but earnings grew more than 20 percent when its West African associate Ecobank is excluded.
"Nedbank surprised on the upside and its results were solid," said Independent Securities trader Ryan Woods. The lender, whose shares rose 6.7 percent to 212.30 rand, lifted other financial stocks, Woods said. Shares in insurer Sanlam were up 5.1 percent at 68.75 rand.
The benchmark Top-40 index was 0.5 percent firmer at 46,149 points while the broader All-Share index was up 0.6 percent to 53,126 points.
Trade was below par with around 273 million shares changing hands, compared with last year's daily average of 296 million, according to preliminary bourse data.
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