Market News

NAIROBI, Sept 18 (Reuters) – The following company announcements, scheduled economic indicators, debt and currency market moves and political events may affect African markets on Wednesday.

GLOBAL MARKETS

The dollar ceded some of its overnight gains on Wednesday while Asian stocks put in a mixed display as traders weighed the odds of a super-sized Federal Reserve interest rate cut later in the day.

WORLD OIL PRICES

Oil prices steadied on Wednesday, after rising in the previous two sessions, as investors await the U.S. Federal Reserve’s anticipated interest rate cut, with the potential for more violence in the Middle East supporting the market.

SOUTH AFRICA MARKETS

The South African rand held steady on Tuesday, with investor focus on Wednesday’s U.S. Federal Reserve policy decision which could see it deliver a big interest rate cut.

KENYA MARKETS

The Kenyan shilling was unchanged on Tuesday as dollar inflows from the tourism sector balanced demand from the manufacturing sector, traders said.

KENYA IMF

The International Monetary Fund said on Tuesday it has held productive discussions with the Kenyan government on its plans to address the country’s economic and fiscal challenges, after nationwide protests forced it to abandon planned tax hikes.

JP MORGAN AFRICA

JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon plans to travel to Africa in mid-October in a push by the biggest U.S. lender to expand on the continent, four sources familiar with the matter told Reuters, his first trip there in seven years.

GHANA POLITICS

Ghana’s main opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) party on Tuesday held nationwide protests against alleged voter roll irregularities, demanding an independent forensic audit to rid the register of errors for free and fair elections.

SOUTH SUDAN OIL

South Sudan and Sudan have made progress towards restarting the pumping of South Sudan’s crude oil through a pipeline running to a port in its neighbour, South Sudan’s finance minister and the president’s office said.

SENEGAL ECONOMY

Senegal’s slower economic growth, its widening fiscal deficit and a potential delay in International Monetary Fund financing could cloud the outlook ahead of Nov. 17 parliamentary elections, analysts say.

MALI SECURITY

Mali said on Tuesday that its capital Bamako was under control after insurgents attacked a gendarmerie training school and other strategic areas before dawn, firing gunshots that reverberated around the city.

ZIMBABWE ELECTRICITY

Zimbabwe is struggling to get independent energy projects built to help ease a prolonged power shortage due to lack of funding and economic instability, a government official has said.

(Compiled by Nairobi Newsroom)