NAIROBI, April 25 (Reuters) – The following company announcements, scheduled economic
indicators, debt and currency market moves and political events may affect African markets on
Tuesday.
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GLOBAL MARKETS
Asian equities advanced on Tuesday as the return of risk
appetite following a centrist victory in the first round of
the French presidential election lifted several regional
markets to multi-year highs, while the euro retained most of
its overnight gains.
WORLD OIL PRICES
Oil prices inched up on Tuesday but markets remain under
pressure following six consecutive sessions of declines as
traders lose confidence that pledged output cuts by major
producers will rein in oversupply in a world awash with
fuel.
EMERGING MARKETS
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AFRICA STOCKS
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SOUTH AFRICA MARKETS
South Africa’s rand hit a three-week high against the dollar
on Monday as emerging markets were buoyed by France’s
presidential election first-round win for the market’s
preferred candidate.
NIGERIA MARKETS
Nigeria’s central bank offered $150 million in currency
forwards at an auction on Monday, it said in a statement,
part of its efforts to narrow the spread between official
and black market exchange rates and improve foreign exchange
liquidity.
Also, stocks rose more than 2 percent on Monday after
the central bank adopted a new policy allowing foreign
investors to engage in foreign exchange trading at rates the
buyers and sellers set.
KENYA MARKETS
Kenya’s shilling was stable on Monday and was seen
gaining ground, helped by dollar inflows from investors
interested in buying government securities, traders
said.
KENYA TELECOMS
Safaricom , Kenya’s biggest telecoms network
operator, said on Monday most of its services had been
restored after a network failure earlier in the
day.
KENYA POLITICS
The Kenyan government on Monday promised “decisive action”
to stem a surge in violence during party primary elections
in a country still haunted by the ethnic bloodletting that
followed a disputed presidential election a decade
ago.
SOUTH SUDAN PETROLEUM
South Sudan said that Blocks B1 and B2 were open for direct
negotiation after talks with Total TOTF.PA, Tullow Oil TLW.L
and the Kuwait Foreign Petroleum Exploration Company broke
down over “irreconcilable differences”.
GHANA COCOA
Ghana, the world’s number two cocoa producer, has missed out
on nearly $1 billion in export earnings due to a steep
decline in global cocoa prices, the CEO of Ghana Cocoa Board
(Cocobod) said on Monday.
IVORY COAST COCOA
Cocoa arrivals at ports in top grower Ivory Coast had
reached around 1,457,000 tonnes by April 23 since the start
of the season on Oct. 1, exporters estimated on Monday, up
about 17 percent from 1,245,000 tonnes in the same period of
the previous season.
ZIMBABWE ECONOMY
Zimbabwe’s “bond note” surrogate currency will not solve its
economic problems, the International Monetary Fund said,
adding that only comprehensive reforms would address a
fiscal crisis.
ANGOLA POLITICS
Angola’s Council of the Republic, a presidential group that
consults on national decisions, has proposed Aug. 23 for a
national election, state radio reported on Monday, a
decision which hangs on President Jose Eduardo dos Santos’
approval.
