The rand firmed against the dollar early on Wednesday, staging a recovery from losses suffered in the previous session in a broad emerging markets sell-off and as lingering concerns over the health of the economy weighed.

At 0645 GMT, the rand traded at 14.1975 per dollar, 0.28 % firmer than its overnight close. The rand had tumbled 1% on Tuesday alongside other emerging market currencies in a broad market selloff.

The fragile domestic economy was also hurting the currency, with recent media reports about possible increased public spending on free education adding to market nerves.

Stocks were set to open lower at 0700 GMT, with the JSE securities exchange’s Top-40 futures index down 0.32%.

In fixed income, the yield for the benchmark government bond due in 2026 was up 2.5 basis points to 9.215 %.