South Africa's rand steadied on Wednesday as fears of an oil price spike eased and investors waited for a US Federal Reserve interest-rate decision. At 1500 GMT the rand was 0.37% firmer, after two consecutive sessions of losses as a spike in global oil prices and fears tensions in the Middle East would further dampen local business conditions pushed the currency to a 2-week low.

In equities, stocks fell for a second session, with the Johannesburg All-share index down 1.19% to 56,220 points, while the blue-chip Top-40 index declined 1.45% to 50,134 points. Dragging the bourse downwards were luxury goods company Richemont, down 5.95% to 109.44 rand, while Naspers shed 3.36% to 2475.00 rand, and insurer Discovery slipped 2.38% to 125.36 rand. Bonds also firmed, with the yield on the benchmark paper due in 2026 down 1 basis point to 8.220%.

Copyright Reuters, 2019