S.Africa's rand steadies after slip to new low, stocks led higher by banks

JOHANNESBURG: South Africa's rand steadied on Thursday after sliding to a new seven-month low against the dollar on Thursday, with investors betting recent volatility could provide some short-term profit opportunities.

At 1430 GMT, the rand traded at 13.8500 per dollar, 0.07 percent firmer. The currency slipped to a session low of 14.00 in early trade before quickly recovering.

"The corrective bounce is gaining momentum. Focus is turning to the 13.7850 high of 21 June, where already overstretched intraday studies could promote consolidation," said analysts at Continuum Economics.

The rand, like its emerging market peers, has been hurt by fears of a global trade war. Locally, a stalemate in wage talks between power utility Eskom and labour unions has added to bearish sentiment.

South Africa's power utility Eskom on Thursday raised its wage increase offer to 6.2 percent from 4.7 percent previously.

U.S. President Donald Trump's hardline approach to trade relations is curbing demand for emerging assets and stoking volatility.

In fixed income, the yield for the benchmark paper due in 2026 was up 4 basis points at 8.94 percent.

Stocks ended firmer with Johannesburg's Top-40 index  adding 0.91 percent to 49,776 points while the broader All-share index gained 0.77 percent to 55,795 points.

Among the advancers, banking group FirstRand gained 2.55 percent to 60.30 rand and Standard Bank added 1.63 percent to 183.64 rand, leading a recovery in the financial services sector after a recent selloff.

On the flip side, platinum producers were under pressure after the precious metal's spot price touched $845.50, its lowest since late January 2016.

Impala Platinum lost 3.25 percent, while Royal Bafokeng Platinum shed 5.65 percent.