S.African rand firms vs dollar, stocks hit 3-week low

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa's rand firmed against the dollar on Tuesday as gold rallied while the local bourse hit a three-week low, falling in tandem with global shares.

The JSE Top-40 index of blue chip stocks dropped for a third consecutive day, closing down 1.37 percent to 23,119.33 points, while the broader All-share index shed 1.37 percent at 25,755.60 points.

"It's not just our market, it's across the globe ... I sense some profit taking, (investors) want to take some of the cash off the table after a seven months' rally, and you can't really blame them," said Investec Securities trader Tubby Goodwin.

"I just think there's a little uncertainty in the world and people are more inclined to take the cash and just sit on the cash for a bit."

World stocks dropped to a four-week low as banking worries prompted investors to cut back on risk.

At 1546 GMT, the rand was trading at 7.84 against the dollar, 1.5 percent firmer than its previous close of 7.9725 as gold climbed to above $1,060 an ounce.

A Johannesburg-based dealer said the rand was still volatile and could "weaken to 8/dollar as risk aversion was starting to come back in the market".

The dollar, considered a safe have by investors, rose to a one-month high against a basket of currencies.

On bourse, the JSE banking sector slid 1.8 percent, with the country's No.4 bank Nedbank down 3.02 percent to 112.50 rand. Insurers were also weaker, with Discovery losing 2.68 percent at 29.75 rand.