JOHANNESBURG, Nov 17 (Reuters) - The South African rand weakened on Friday as investors awaited a review of South Africa's sovereign credit ratings by S&P Global later in the day.

       At 1512 GMT, the rand traded at 18.4025 against the dollar , around 0.2% weaker than its previous close.

       In March, S&P downgraded its outlook to stable from positive, citing infrastructure constraints and a severe power crisis. In May it had held off from changing the country's sovereign credit rating or outlook.

       "We expect either a drop to a negative outlook or for the agency to wait until the February budget to decide if it needs to make a change," Investec analyst Lara Hodes said in a research note.

       Next week, the South African Reserve Bank will announce its interest rates decision. A Reuters poll found that the central bank will keep its repo rate unchanged and wait until May 2024 before cutting it.

       On the stock market, the Top-40 (.JTOPI) and the broader all-share (.JALSH) indexes closed around 0.2% higher.

       South Africa's benchmark 2030 government bond was weaker in late deals, with the yield up 2.5 basis point to 10.075%.

       Reporting by Tannur Anders and Anait Miridzhanian; Editing by Nellie Peyton and Stephen Coates

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