Johannesburg - South Africa's rand was flat against the dollar on Friday after hitting a record low the previous session as nagging concerns over weak domestic growth and the impact of a slowing Chinese economy strangled appetite for emerging market assets.
Stocks opened higher on South Africa's blue-chip Top-40 index, which was up 0.1 percent by 07h05 GMT.
Government bonds were weaker with yields higher. The benchmark 2026 issue added 3.5 points to 8.475 percent in early trade.
At 07h00 GMT the rand was 0.06 percent firmer at 13.8500 per dollar, recovering slightly after dropping 1 percent to a record low of 14.0860 in the preceding session as the greenback extended its recent bull run.
The dollar received a boost after Federal Reserve chairwoman Janet Yellen said in a speech late on Thursday she expected the bank to begin raising rates later in 2015.
The rand has been the ropes since Wednesday after South Africa's Reserve Bank kept interest rates unchanged, citing weak economic growth, upside risks to inflation and uncertainty over the impact on the currency of a rate hike in the US.
“A delayed reaction to Wednesday morning's weak Chinese PMI figure seems to have combined with further falls in commodity prices, a stronger dollar and general uncertainty,” said John Cairns, a currency strategist with Rand Merchant Bank.
Data on Wednesday showed Chinese factory activity fell to a 6-1/2-year low, spurring a sharp sell-off of commodity currencies.
On Friday, South Africa's Treasury publishes government budget figures for August, while investors will also watch for growth and PMI data from the United States.
REUTERS