South African assets gain as global sentiment picks up

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) -South African assets firmed on Thursday as the global mood was lifted by hopes that a squabble over the U.S. debt ceiling will be resolved and by an easing of energy prices that tempered fears over high inflation and weak global growth.

At 1613 GMT the rand traded at 14.8850 against the dollar, around 0.6% firmer than its previous close.

Johannesburg-listed stocks hit a near one-month high, with the local exchange's All-Share index up 1.83% at 65,157 points, a level last reached on Sept. 9, while the Top-40 index jumped 2.08% to 58,721 points.

"This has been another volatile week for markets with the sentiment pendulum swinging back and forth," Lukman Otunuga, senior research analyst at FXTM, said in a note.

"Risk appetite flickered to life on Thursday as progress on debt ceiling talks in the United States and Russia's offer to stabilise energy markets lifted global sentiment," Otunuga said.

Record high energy prices have stoked fears of "stagflation" - high inflation combined with stagnating economic output - this week. [O/R]

Among Thursday's gainers on the Johannesburg bourse, fashion retailer TFG closed 1.26% higher after it said it saw its half-year profit rising more than 100%.

Platinum miners surged, with Northam Platinum up 10.85%, Impala Platinum up 8.97% and Anglo American Platinum up 7.20%, as the price of the precious metal rose.

The yield on South Africa's benchmark 2030 government bond dropped 7 basis points.

(Reporting by Nqobile Dludla and Alexander Winning; editing by John Stonestreet)