Johannesburg - The rand held its ground against the dollar early on Friday as expectations that domestic interest rates would remain high this year attracted investors seeking higher yield.
* Rand up 0.15% at R14.1980/$ by 08:45, compared with Thursday's New York close at R14.2200/$.
* Reserve Bank kept benchmark repo rate at 7% on Thursday, citing a weak economy.
* Stocks set to open lower at 09:00, with the JSE Top-40futures index down 0.49%.
* Government bonds firm, with the yield on the 2026benchmark falling 1 basis point to 8.74%.