South Africa's rand slips, stocks dragged lower by Bidvest

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa's rand weakened on Tuesday with emerging assets struggling for clear direction as risk demand eased ahead of a speech before Congress by U.S. President Donald Trump. On the stock market, the benchmark Top-40 index slipped 0.8 percent to 44,131 points while the broader All-Share index declined 0.7 percent to 51,146. At 1540 GMT the rand had slipped 0.27 percent to 13.0450 per dollar, as investor jitters over Trump's fiscal plan again dominated sentiment and sapped the rand's recent momentum, pushing the unit to a third session of losses. "In addition to Trump's speech, Fed policymakers Williams and Bullard are scheduled to speak; but like all of us, they and the dollar are at the mercy of Trumponomics," Rand Merchant Bank analyst Isaah Mhlanga said in a note. Locally, trade data for January showed the balance swinging to a deficit of more than 10.8 billion rand, slightly wider than forecast, although market reaction to the figure was muted. [nJ8N1G001E] Bidvest was the biggest loser among the blue-chips, extending losses to a five-month low after reporting a 4.4 percent rise in half-year profit on Monday and saying it has $1 billion available for acquisitions. Bidvest shares fell 5.1 percent to 155.02 rand. Gold mining firms were also weaker after the bullion price retreated from the 3-1/2 month highs it hit in the previous session. [nL3N1GD3NG] Shares in Anglogold Ashanti were down 3 percent at 145.61 rand, while Gold Fields shed 2.2 percent to 40.25 rand. Bonds were weaker, with the yield on the benchmark paper due in 2026 adding 6 basis points to 8.8 percent. (Reporting by Mfuneko Toyana and TJ Strydom, editing by Ed Osmond)