The following company announcements, scheduled economic indicators, debt and currency market moves and political events may affect African markets on Thursday- Reuters.
EVENTS:
KENYA – Central Bank of Kenya auctions 91-day Treasury bills worth 4 billion shillings.
MAURITIUS – The central Bank of Mauritius auctions 91-day Treasury Bills worth a total 400 million rupees.
ZAMBIA – Bank of Zambia auctions 91-day, 182-day, 273-day and 364-day Treasury bills.
MOZAMBIQUE – Mozambique to release inflation data for January anytime stating on Thursday. Mozambique’s consumer inflation slowed to 6.14 percent year-on-year in December from 8.6 percent in November.
GLOBAL MARKETS
Asian shares recovered on Thursday on brightening prospects for Greece to secure a crucial bond swap to avoid a messy default and U.S. data suggesting a recovery in the labour market ahead of key jobs figures.
WORLD OIL PRICES
Brent crude was steady above $124 a barrel on Thursday on hopes that Greece would win enough creditor support to avoid a messy default, while promising jobs data from top oil consumer, the United States, also supported prices.
SOUTH AFRICA MARKETS
South African government bonds edged higher on Wednesday and the rand was little changed against the dollar in very thin trading as the market took a breather from a bout of profit-taking that drove the currency as much as 1.7 percent weaker the previous day.
Also, stocks rebounded on Wednesday after their heaviest one-day loss in over 3 months in the previous session, led by Africa’s biggest telecoms group, MTN Group , which cheered investors by jacking up its dividend cover.
NIGERIA MARKETS
The Nigerian naira firmed against the U.S dollar on the interbank market on Wednesday, supported by large dollar sales by state-owned energy company NNPC and expectations of additional dollar inflows in the coming days, traders said.
NIGERIA CRUDE OIL
British oil firm Afren said it hoped to bring a field discovered in Nigeria in January into production in the “near-term”, after tests on the oil proved successful.
KENYA MARKETS
The Kenyan shilling gained against the dollar on Wednesday a day after the central bank held its benchmark interest rate steady for the third month in a row, while stocks gained for a 12th straight day. At close of trade, commercial banks quoted the local currency at 82.70/90 per dollar, stronger than Tuesday’s close of 82.95/83.15.
The Nairobi Securities Exchange’s main NSE-20 Share Index extended it winning streak to a 12th straight session, up 0.53 percent to 3,380.27 points.
KENYA BANK RESULTS
Kenya’s Co-operative Bank said on Thursday full-year 2011 pretax profit rose 10 percent to 6.3 billion Kenyan shillings ($76.1 million) after its loan book grew by just over a quarter.
Also, Equity Bank said its pretax profit had risen 42 percent to 12.83 billion shillings.
TANZANIA ECONOMY Tanzania’s central bank said on Wednesday that economic growth could beat its 6.0 percent forecast for fiscal year 2011/12, with inflation falling to single digits by the June year-end, despite power shortages and a sluggish global economy.
SEYCHELLES FINANCE MINISTER
Seychelles’ president on Wednesday appointed the Indian Ocean archipelago’s central bank governor, Pierre Laporte, to the position of the country’s finance minister replacing Danny Faure during a cabinet reshuffle.
SOUTH SUDAN PETROLEUM
South Sudan, locked in a row over oil transit fees with neighbour Sudan, said on Wednesday it plans to build a temporary underwater oil pipeline along the Nile as part of a project to deliver crude for export from ports in Kenya and Djibouti.
ZIMBABWE MINING
Impala Platinum, the world’s second-biggest producer, has made an “irrevocable offer” to hand over a 29.5 percent stake in its Zimplats unit to a Zimbabwe state-run fund, a senior minister said on Wednesday.
Source: Reuters
