South Africa's rand gains, stocks set to open flat

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa's rand strengthened against the dollar early on Friday, with market focus expected to switch from local politics to global economic events. At 0645 GMT, the rand traded at 12.9500 per dollar, up 0.27 percent from its New York close on Thursday. Local politics have kept the rand volatile this week, with the unit weakening after a row over the South African Reserve Bank mandate and strengthening on Thursday as investors cheered a court ruling that parliament could hold a secret ballot in a no-confidence vote against President Jacob Zuma. "USD/ZAR risks have switched back to the downside (rand strength). We doubt, however, that we will see much action today," Rand Merchant Bank currency strategist John Cairns said. "The data calendar contains some interesting international releases but probably nothing that will cause the rand to break one way or another". Stocks were set to open flat at 0700 GMT, with the JSE securities exchange's Top-40 futures index largely unchanged. In fixed income, the yield for the benchmark government bond due in 2026 fell 2 basis points to 8.54 percent. (Reporting by Olivia Kumwenda-Mtambo, editing by Larry King)