South Africa's rand firmer, stocks to open higher

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa's rand firmed against the U.S. dollar in early trade on Monday but analysts said heightened political risks could weigh on the currency this week after a senior member of South Africa's ruling ANC urged its top leaders to quit. * At 0645 GMT, the rand traded at 13.b9350 per dollar, 0.36percent firmer from its New York close on Friday. * ANC parliamentary chief whip Jackson Mthembu urged theparty's to leaders to quit, saying on Sunday fraud chargesagainst Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan reflected an abuse ofpower to settle political scores within the party. * Market focus also on Gordhan's medium-term budgetstatement on Wednesday. * Blue chip futures index up 0.2 percent, indicating JSEsecurities exchange opening slightly higher at 0700 GMT. * Yield for the benchmark government bond due in 2026 dips3.5 basis points 8.795 percent. (Reporting by Olivia Kumwenda-Mtambo)