JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) -South Africa’s rand and stocks rose on Wednesday, as regulations to mitigate the U.S. banking crisis boosted global confidence.
Regulators allayed some fears over a global banking system failure sparked by the collapse of U.S. Silicon Valley Bank earlier this month, which restored some risk appetite to markets.
At 1527 GMT, the rand traded at 18.1025 against the dollar, 0.28% stronger than its previous close.
The dollar index, which measures the currency against six rivals, was last up about 0.19% at 102.68.
At the week’s halfway point, volumes and activity were low on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, said Sasfin equity strategist David Shapiro.
“At least we’re in a steady incline, slowly clawing our way up just along the board,” Shapiro added.
The blue-chip Top 40 index closed 0.6% higher, while the broader all-share index rose 0.57%.
Local stocks were lower than global counterparts with the MSCI All-World index, which captures equity performances across 23 developed economies, was up slightly at 0.15%.
Local investors will now turn their focus towards the South African Reserve Bank’s (SARB) rate decision on Thursday, with markets expecting a 25-basis-point increase.
The government’s benchmark 2030 bond was stronger, with the yield down 7.5 basis points to 9.815%.
(Reporting by Nellie Peyton and Tannur Anders;Editing by Bernadette Baum, Bhargav Acharya and Sharon Singleton)
