Rand steady, focus on US jobs data

Johannesburg - The rand steadied against the dollar early on Friday, holding on to its strongest levels in four months, but traders were cautious ahead of a US jobs report that will help investors gauge the strength of the world's biggest economy.

At 06:45 GMT, the rand traded at R14.7430/$, 0.16% firmer from Thursday's New York close of 14.7670.

The currency rallied to its firmest level since December 9 on Thursday after the Constitutional Court ordered President Jacob Zuma to repay the state for some security upgrades to his private home.

"The recent closes in the rand have been technically supportive of the local currency," Nedbank analysts said in a note.

"However, somewhat excessive euphoria around the local constitutional court ruling and generally improved sentiment prevailing will see markets likely to be somewhat cautious ahead of the plethora of US data this afternoon."

Stocks were set to open lower, with the JSE's Top 40 futures index down nearly 1%.

In fixed income, the yield for the benchmark instrument due in 2026 added 2 basis points to 9.135%.