VACCINE HOPES BOOST RAND

THE RAND gained yesterday, boosted by optimism about Covid-19 vaccines that have whetted risk appetite among global investors hungry for yield.

At 5pm the rand was about 0.60 percent firmer at R15.22, a one-week best. It slid to a low of R15.43 in the previous session in erratic trade as investors looked to gauge the impact of the vaccines given weak fundamentals.

Britain on Wednesday approved Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine, raising hopes that the tide could begin to turn against a virus that has killed nearly 1.5 million people globally.

“The rand has been steadily appreciating against the US dollar over the last few months with its attractive carry, high yielding sovereign bonds and correlation to global risk sentiment,” said Warren Venketas, currency analyst at IG.

“These factors have overshadowed South Africa’s dim economic growth prospects and political instability.”

The country, already in recession before the pandemic struck, was among the hardest hit by the coronavirus-related lockdowns.

On the bourse, equities rose for a third consecutive session as improved risk sentiment boosted global stocks on news that a vaccine for Covid-19 was imminent.

The JSE all share index jumped 1.14 percent to end at 58 947.18 points, reaching its highest level in more than 11 months, while the bluechip index of Top40 companies closed up 1.29 percent at 54 171.85 points, a level last seen in 2018.

Platinum miners, Impala Platinum gained 3.82 percent to R176.71 and Northam Platinum rose 2.72 percent to R192.50 on the back of a firmer platinum price.

Gains, however, were curbed as gold mining stocks fell 2.95 percent with bullion producer Harmony Gold closing down 3.96 percent to R66.18. Gold Fields dropped 4.21 percent to R135.99. I Reuters