Market Watch | - Part 36

South Africa’s Rand Gains to Five-Month High Versus Dollar

Johannesburg, South Africa, Capital Markets in Africa — The rand gained to its strongest level against the dollar in five months after South Africa unexpectedly posted a trade surplus in March for the first time this year. The currency gained 0.9 percent to 14.1611 per dollar by 2:46 p.m. in Johannesburg, heading for the strongest level since Nov. 24 and the best performance out of 31 major and emerging-market currencies monitored by Bloomberg. The rand has advanced 9.2 percent…

Kenya’s Benchmark Stock Index Poised for Gains on Golden Cross

Posted on by The Editorial Team

NAIROBI, Kenya, Capital Market in Africa — Kenya’s benchmark equity index is set to extend gains as falling yields on government debt prompt investors to seek better returns in stocks. The 50-day moving average for the Nairobi Security Exchange All Share Index climbed above the 200-day moving average this week for the first time since 2012, a so-called golden cross that signals to some traders that further gains are in store. Yields on government 164-day paper have…

Ghana’s Largest IPO at Risk as Government Drags Its Feet

Posted on by The Editorial Team

ACCRA, Ghana, Capital Markets in Africa — The largest initial public offering in Ghana’s history is at risk of falling apart after Agricultural Development Bank Ltd. missed a deadline to submit results of the sale to the nation’s regulator. The lender is waiting for its owners — the Bank of Ghana and the Ministry of Finance — to sign off on the outcome of the IPO, Solomon Atefoe, a spokesman for the Accra-based bank, said Friday in a…

Emerging Currencies Gain Third Month Led by Ruble on Oil Rebound

Posted on by The Editorial Team

LAGOS, Nigeria, Capital Markets in Africa — Russia’s ruble and the South African rand rallied, leading emerging-market currencies toward a third month of gains, as an advance in Brent crude towards $50 a barrel boosted the outlook for energy producers. The MSCI Emerging Markets Currency Index rose to a nine-month high on Friday following a 0.8 percent advance in April. The ruble extended the best start to a year on record as Russia’s central bank left borrowing costs…

Guinness Nigeria’s Profit Tumbles During Economic Downturn

Posted on by The Editorial Team

LAGOS, Nigeria, Capital Markets in Africa — Guinness Nigeria Plc, the country’s second-biggest brewer, said profit fell 83 percent in the nine months through to the end of March during a downturn in Africa’s largest economy. Earnings after tax were 864 million naira ($4.35 million) in the period, compared with 5.2 billion naira a year earlier, the local unit of Diageo Plc said in a statement on the Nigerian Stock Exchange’s website. Revenue dropped 18 percent to…

Kenyan Equity Valuations Buoyed by Low Oil, Politics — Exotix

Posted on by The Editorial Team

Nairobi, Kenya, Capital Markets in Africa — Kenya equity valuations that declined over the past year are now among the most attractive in sub-Saharan African frontier markets, supported by the lowest political risk in a decade and favorable global conditions, analysts from Exotix Partners LLP said. Lower oil prices, which benefit net crude importers like Kenya, and the prospect that the timing of U.S. interest-rate increases have been pushed out are expected to foster a “relatively benign environment…

Devaluation Bets Send Egyptian Stocks Rising to August High

Posted on by The Editorial Team

CAIRO, Egypt, Capital Market in Africa — Egyptian stocks surged to an eight-month high on speculation that authorities will devalue the currency for the second time this year. Local investors fueled a fifth day of gains as a persistent dollar shortage forced the Egyptian pound to a record low in black market trading. The nation’s decision to weaken its currency by the most in 13 years last month has so far proved insufficient to attract foreign investment…

« 1 … 34 35 36 37 38 … 200 »