African Markets Factors to watch on Tuesday, August 4

The following company announcements, scheduled economic indicators, debt and currency market moves and political events may affect African markets on Tuesday.

EVENTS

Kenya’s Equity Bank Group releases its first-half 2015 earnings results.

GLOBAL MARKETS

Asian shares struggled to stay positive on Tuesday after downbeat economic data pressured Wall Street ahead of a key US jobs report that could provide important clues to the timing of the Federal Reserve’s interest rate increase.

 WORLD OIL PRICES

Oil prices edged up in early Asian trading on Tuesday following a sharp 5 percent drop in the previous session, as high global production and a weakening economic outlook, especially in Asia, prompted analysts to warn of further falls.

EMERGING MARKETS

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SOUTH AFRICA MARKETS

South Africa’s rand weakened slightly on Monday, as investors cautiously awaited US jobs data on Friday with traders saying a Federal Reserve interest rate lift-off was on track if the report came out strong.

Stocks ended slightly lower, breaking a three-session winning run, with miners taking the most points off the index as metal prices tumbled.

NIGERIA MARKETS

The naira gained on the parallel market on Monday, after Nigeria’s commercial banks stopped accepting cash deposits in dollars, a move to discourage speculation in the currency.

NIGERIA BUDGET

Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari aims to cut recurrent expenditure in next year’s budget in order to prioritise development projects, the presidency said in an emailed statement on Monday.

KENYA MARKETS

The Kenyan shilling strengthened on Monday, helped by tight liquidity and expectations that the central bank will raise its lending rate this week, while stocks fell for a third-straight session.

 

KENYA CENTRAL BANK RATE

Kenya Central Bank will lift interest rates on Wednesday, according to a slim majority of economists in a Reuters poll, as authorities look to support the shilling against a resilient US dollar.

 

MAURITIUS BUSINESS

Business confidence on the Indian Ocean island of Mauritius rose slightly in the second quarter of this year, a survey of leading private companies showed on Monday.

 

IVORY COAST COCOA

Cocoa arrivals at ports in top grower Ivory Coast reached around 1,673,000 tonnes by August 2 since the start of the season on October 1, exporters estimated on Monday, compared with 1,668,000 tonnes in the same period of the previous season.

 

ZAMBIA MINING

Power cuts in Zambia, coupled with falling copper prices, are increasing the risk of a credit rating downgrade at copper producer First Quantum , Moody’s said on Monday.

 

ZIMBABWE MINING

Zimbabwe’s largest platinum producer Zimplats swung to a $32.5 million loss during the quarter to June compared with a $6.8 million profit in the previous quarter on lower sales and weaker metal prices.

 

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