The main driver was worse-than-expected U.S. jobs data, which hurt the dollar.
The nonfarm payrolls miss cooled expectations that a U.S. economic recovery would lead to higher interest rates any time soon, boosting appetite for riskier assets including those in emerging markets.
At 1555 GMT, the rand stood at 14.0550 against the dollar, roughly 0.9% stronger on the day.
Moody's was due to issue its review South Africa's sovereign rating later on Friday, but analysts including those at Rand Merchant Bank expected it to keep the foreign-currency rating at 'Ba2', a sub-investment grade.
The country's public finances were in bad shape before the COVID-19 pandemic struck and have deteriorated since, but the National Treasury has tried to avoid a debt spiral by curbing the public sector wage bill.
In fixed income, the yield on the benchmark 2030 government bond was little changed at 9.05%.
On the Johannesburg bourse, stocks rose, with the Top-40 Index rising 1.41% to 62,573 points and the All-Share Index climbing 1.35% to 68,520 points.
The stronger rand was the main driver behind many increases, with companies that tend to benefit from a stronger local currency, such as banks and insurers, leading the market.
(Reporting by Alexander Winning and Emma Rumney; Editing by Kevin Liffey)
