NAIROBI, April 26 (Reuters) – The following company announcements, scheduled economic
indicators, debt and currency market moves and political events may affect African markets on
Wednesday.
– – – – –
EVENTS:
*GHANA – Statistics office to release 2016 gross domestic
product figures and consumer inflation data for March.
*ZAMBIA – Statistics office to release consumer inflation
data for April anytime starting on Wednesday.
*ZAMBIA – Court to rule on whether to throw out treason case
against opposition leader Hakainde Hichilema of the United
Party for National Development.
GLOBAL MARKETS
Asian stocks extended gains for a fifth consecutive day on
Wednesday, as renewed optimism about the world’s biggest
economy brightened the outlook for risk assets while the
euro held on to previous gains as political concerns in
France ebbed.
WORLD OIL PRICES
Oil prices resumed their downward trend on Wednesday as data
showed a rise in U.S. crude inventories and record supplies
in the rest of the world cast doubt on OPEC’s ability to cut
supplies and tighten the market.
EMERGING MARKETS
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AFRICA STOCKS
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SOUTH AFRICA MARKETS
South Africa’s rand retreated on Tuesday as the global
demand for risk currencies eased and technical factors
weighed, but stocks firmed, buoyed by firms with substantial
sales abroad.
NIGERIA MARKETS
Nigeria has weakened the naira for investors but it may
still struggle to attract dollars unless it scraps its
system of multiple exchange rates, analysts said, doubting
funds will flow back after the central bank’s latest
currency moves.
NIGERIA REVENUES
Nigeria’s distributable government revenues rose to 467.81
billion naira ($1.53 billion) in March from 429 billion
naira in February due to higher royalties from oil
production, a government statement said on
Tuesday.
KENYA MARKETS
The Kenyan shilling was steady against the dollar on
Tuesday and was seen strengthening due to inflows from
investors buying Treasury bills and bonds, traders
said.
KENYA TELECOMS
Kenya’s telecoms regulator said on Tuesday it was waiting
for a full report on an outage that knocked out services for
several hours at the country’s biggest operator, Safaricom
.
KENYA POLITICS
Kenyan police fired teargas on Tuesday to disperse hundreds
of people who took to the streets to protest the outcome of
a regional party primary in the west of the
country.
SOUTH SUDAN UNREST
The United States slammed South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir
on Tuesday for the African state’s “man-made” famine and
ongoing conflict, urging him to fulfill a month-old pledge
of a unilateral truce by ordering his troops back to their
barracks.
GHANA COCOA
Ghana’s Cocobod needs around $400 million in bridge
financing from the central bank to cover its operations for
the remainder of the cocoa season after its annual
syndicated loan ran out early, the industry regulator’s
chief executive said on Tuesday.
ZAMBIA MINING
Zambia, Africa’s second-largest copper producer, is talking
to an Israeli company that wants to buy a stake in state
mining investment arm Zambia Consolidated Copper Mines
Investment Holdings (ZCCM-IH), a source told Reuters on
Tuesday.
BOTSWANA MINING
Botswana’s Debswana Diamond Company has started processing
ore from the $3 billion expansion of its Jwaneng diamond
mine, popularly known as Cut 8, the company said on
Tuesday.
NAMIBIA MINING
Namibia’s Rössing Uranium, a Rio Tinto business,
said it has managed to navigate “the worst year of the past
decade” for the uranium industry, turning a 2015 loss into a
net profit of 107 million Namibian dollars ($8.2 million) in
2016.
