STOCKS NEWS Reuters Results diary Stocks on the move Real-time Equity News 1810GMT 10Oct12 - Fan Milk rises on earnings expectations ---------------------------------------------------------------------
Shares in Fan Milk Limited rise 1.7 percent as investors bet on strong third quarter earning results, traders say.
Fan Milk advances 0.05 cedis to 3 cedis ($1.59) on 17,300 shares traded, leading the GSE Composite index up 1.57 points, or 0.15 percent, to 1,044.12 points.
"Generally, there is high investor expectation of Fan Milk's healthy quarterly performance," one trader said.
Earnings for the first nine months of the year are expected from the middle of October onwards.
The dairy products-maker in July reported a 31 percent increase in profits for the first half of the year compared to the same period in 2011.
Traded volumes are 685,424 shares, valued at 275,552.11 cedis. Reporting by Christian Akorlie ($1 = 1.888 cedis) 1435GMT 10Oct12 - Nigeria's Diamond Bank rises second day on profits ----------------------------------------------------------------------
Nigeria's Diamond Bank soars almost 10 percent, the maximum daily limit allowed, a day after posting a sharp rise nine-months profits, to help lift the broader stock market index up almost one percent.
Shares in Diamond Bank climbs 9.83 percent to 4.47 naira, to remain at a 13-months high touched on Tuesday. The lender on Tuesday said its nine month pretax profit hit 23.2 billion naira, up from a loss of 6.9 billion naira during the same period a year ago.
Diamond Bank is one of the 25 stocks eligible for market making, meaning that its share price can rise up to 10 percent on a trading day, up from the old 5 percent daily limit for other stocks.
Nigeria's share index climbs 0.62 percent to cross 27,000 points. It has gained almost 30 percent so far, to emerge as one of the best performing frontier markets in Africa this year.
Other gainers include heavy weight Dangote Sugar , and Sterling Bank up more than 9.5 percent each.
Reuters Messaging: chijioke.ohuocha.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net 0913GMT 10Oct12 - FirstRand extends gains on Credit Suisse upgrade ------------------------------------------------------------------
Shares of FirstRand Ltd rise for a second session, adding 1.4 percent to 26.35 rand after Credit Suisse lifts its rating on South Africa's second-largest lender to "outperform" from "neutral", citing the quality and visibility of earnings growth, an attractive valuation and its growth strategy.
Credit Suisse, which says FirstRand is its preferred pick among large South African banks, also raised its price target for the stock to 32.60 rand from 29.70 rand.
Reuters Messaging: david.dolan.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net
Keywords: MARKETS AFRICA STOCKSNEWS