Market News
South African rand boosted by weaker US jobs data - REUTERS
JOHANNESBURG, May 3 (Reuters) - The South African rand was stronger on Friday after U.S. nonfarm payrolls grew less than expected in April, boosting hopes that the Federal Reserve could cut interest rates soon.
At 1516 GMT, the rand traded at 18.5100 to the dollar , about 0.3% stronger than its previous close.
The dollar was down about 0.3% against a basket of global currencies. "This was the first release in a long time that gave the market a shock and for others a sigh of relief," said Casparus Treurnicht, portfolio manager at Gryphon Asset Management, referring to the employment numbers.
"It is going to be very interesting to see what the next release of inflation is going to do and how the market is going to interpret this is anyone's guess," he added.
The rand often takes cues from global drivers like U.S. monetary policy in addition to major local data points.
On the stock market, both the Top-40 (.JTOPI) and broader all-share (.JALSH) indexes closed around 0.5% higher. South Africa's benchmark 2030 government bond also rose, with the yield down 3 basis points to 10.605%.
