The rand was firmer on Friday morning, with focus on the first sitting of the new National Assembly, at which the new president will be elected.
Investors are waiting for a formal agreement between the various political parties and a government of national unity (GNU).
After late-night discussions on Thursday, there appears to be a tentative agreement for a GNU comprising the ANC, DA, IFP, PA, and FF+.
The 400 parliamentarians will also be sworn in and will elect a new speaker and deputy speaker.
Business Day has learnt that a preliminary framework has been drafted, detailing the functioning of the GNU, the responsibilities of the various political parties, and the mutual accountability they will uphold.
“The rand continues to show some resilience despite a surprising surge in the dollar late last night,” said TreasuryOne currency strategist Andre Cilliers.
“The local currency is likely to be driven by local developments and headlines throughout the day.”
At 10.35am, the rand had strengthened 0.42% to R18.3536/$, 0.75% to R19.6219/€ and 0.83% to R23.3124/£. The euro was 0.45% weaker at $1.0688.
Globally, investors are weighing data showing cooling inflation this week, and a Federal Reserve pulling back from three interest rate cuts expected in 2024 to only one.
At 10.40am, the JSE all share had gained 0.89% to 77,062.02 points and the top 40 was up 0.85%.
At the same time in Europe, the FTSE 100 lost 0.26%, France’s CAC 3.42% and Germany’s DAX 0.56%.
Earlier in Asia, the Shanghai Composite lost 0.12% and Japan’s Nikkei 0.24%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained 0.94% .
In the commodities market, gold gained 0.67% to $2,317.74/oz and platinum 0.16% to $954.40/oz. Brent crude was 0.21% weaker at $82.58 a barrel.
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