South Africa's rand and stocks gained on Friday as investors turned their attention to the final day of the two-day Group of 20 finance meeting, which South Africa, the first African host nation, hopes to conclude with a formal communique.

The South African rand was little changed in early trading on Wednesday, before the release of the country’s retail sales data later in the day. At 0659 GMT, the rand traded at 17.89 against the dollar ZAR=D3,

Finance chiefs of G20 countries expressed optimism for an agreement on a common position on trade and other global challenges on Friday despite U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs which have overshadowed their meeting.