Johannesburg - The rand traded close to its previous closing level against the dollar on Thursday, with traders and analysts expecting it to stay in a narrow range ahead of the central bank's interest rate announcement later in the session.
The JSE's Top 40 futures index was up 0.8%, indicating that the actual stock index would open more than 380 points higher.
At 08:48, the rand traded at R14.1605/$, almost bang in line with its close at 14.1650 in New York on Wednesday.
Government bonds were also flat, with the yield on the benchmark government bond maturing in 2026 unchanged at 8.485%.
Analysts said the market was largely pricing in a "no change" stance on interests rates when the central bank concluded its final policy meeting of the year.
Governor Lesetja Kganyago was due to start his news conference from around 15:00.
"Ahead of the (conference) this afternoon ... we expect the rand to remain range bound," Standard Bank said in a note.
Dollar/rand would find support at 14.0700, 14.0000 and 13.9200, while resistance was seen around 14.1500, 14.3800 and 14.5000, it added.