JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - The rand firmed for a second day on Tuesday, shaking off selling last week sparked by a Fitch outlook downgrade, while higher commodity prices and exporters keen to sell dollars at the lower levels have been supporting the currency. The rand has gained 0.9 percent to the dollar to 8.0285 in early trading. Charts show it is unlikely the rand will break through resistance at 8.01/02. The rand has attempted the 8.01/02 area twice this year, and bounced weaker each time. The U.S. market opens on Tuesday after being closed on Monday for a national holiday. The lack of players in the market on Monday could have allowed the currency to post quick gains, dealers said. "We're quiet this morning. I think that maybe (Friday's move) was an over reaction. A lot of the bad news was expected," said Ashley Dickinson, a bond trader at Renaissance Capital. Fitch rating agency put South Africa on negative outlook on Friday, driving a frantic sell off in local assets. Government bonds were steady at Monday's close awaiting the second fixed-income auction of the year at 0900 GMT, after which dealers are likely to take positions. They yield on the 2015 bond was at 6.76 percent while the 2026 issue stood at 8.53 percent. Treasury is selling 2.1 billion rand in 2020 and 2041 paper. "I think we'll see some demand. The price action on the R207 has been reasonable in the last couple of days and that's normally a relatively good indication of how it's going to go," Dickinson said. "I think the 207 leg can be slightly better than fair value at the time and the 214 will probably come out at fair value."

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