Rand falls as debt ratings reduced

The South African rand lost value against the U.S. dollar on Tuesday, damaged by debt rating reductions applied to six countries in Europe by a credit rating service, according to Bloomberg.

Moody's Investor Service also issued warnings to the U.K. and France, both of which are in peril of losing their intact AAA rating. The six downgraded nations include Italy, Spain and Portugal, all of which to some degree have been victimized by the sovereign debt crisis.

"Risky assets appear to be under some pressure, after another round of sovereign rating downgrades in Europe," states an email authored by emerging-markets strategy head Benoit Anne with Societe Generale, according to Bloomberg. "This, together with the fear of further headline risks, seems to be creating a negative market backdrop for risk."

Spain, Italy and Portugal's credit rating reductions also include negative outlooks. Slovakia, Slovenia and Malta also endured rating reductions.

Reuters reports South African government bonds also lost value but losses to the nations' credit ratings were not surprising to many close observers to the market who have been following the sovereign debt crisis' wrath during the past two-plus years.