South Africa's rand rallied in early trade on Monday after President Cyril Ramaphosa announced his new government of national unity cabinet on Sunday night.
The president appointed the leader of the former opposition Democratic Alliance (DA), John Steenhuisen, as agriculture minister, giving the party six seats in the new coalition cabinet.
Following the appointments, in early trade at 7.37am on Monday, the rand traded at 18.0150 against the dollar, 1% stronger than its previous close, according to Reuters.
After a month of intense negotiations, Ramaphosa named Steenhuisen as part of his cabinet line-up on Sunday, bringing the party and several other coalition parties into the government.
"There will be a palpable sense of relief that Mr Ramaphosa has finally named his executive following protracted and often terse negotiations with his new coalition partners," Oxford Economics said in a research note.
The ANC lost its majority for the first time in 30 years in the May 29 general election and has formed a coalition government with its former rivals to stay in power.
The new 32-member cabinet includes ministers from seven different parties.
Other ministerial positions the DA clinched include Siviwe Gwarube, minister of basic education, Dean Macpherson, minister of public works and infrastructure, Leon Schreiber, minister of home affairs, Dion George, minister of forestry, fisheries and the environment, and Solly Malatsi, minister of communications and digital technologies. The party also clinched six deputy minister posts.
Domestic investor focus will be on the monthly purchasing managers' index (PMI) survey for the local manufacturing sector by Absa and vehicle sales figures, both due to be released today (Monday).
On the stock market, the JSE Top-40 index was up 0.5% while the broader JSE All Share Index rallied 0.8% higher in early trade.
