African Markets - Factors to watch on Oct 5

NAIROBI, Oct 5 (Reuters) - The following company announcements, scheduled economic indicators, debt and currency market moves and political events may affect African markets on Friday.

- - - - - EVENTS:

*MAURITIUS - Mauritius releases inflation data for September.

*MAURITIUS - Bank of Mauritius auctions 364-day Treasury bills worth a

total 400 million rupees. GLOBAL MARKETS

Asian shares rose and the euro clung on to most of its overnight gains on

Friday as investors awaited a key U.S. jobs report, with positive

sentiment sustained after the European Central Bank said it was ready to

buy bonds of troubled euro zone countries.

WORLD OIL PRICES

Brent futures slipped towards $112 per barrel on Friday, but is on course

to end a choppy week nearly flat as rising tensions in the Middle East

battled with perennial worries about the global economy and oil demand.

WORLD FOOD PRICES

World food prices rose in September and are seen remaining close to levels

reached during the 2008 food crisis, the United Nations' food agency said

on Thursday, while cutting its forecast for global cereal output.

WORLD BANK REFORMS

The head of the World Bank said on Thursday he is preparing broad reforms

at the development lender to make it more effective in ending global

poverty and will discuss the changes with member countries at meetings in

Tokyo next week. EMERGING MARKETS

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AFRICA STOCKS

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AFRICA CURRENCIES

A rate cut by Uganda's central bank this week, the fifth in a row, is

likely to weaken the shilling as foreign investors back out of the

country's increasingly low-yielding debt. Kenya's shilling is expected to

hold steady. SOUTH AFRICA MARKETS

South African stocks rose for the first time in three sessions on Thursday

with mining shares among the gainers as higher commodity prices and a

weaker rand helped offset labour unrest in the nation's mines.

The rand extended losses against the dollar, hitting an 11-week low as

waves of strikes across the mining industry continued to dent sentiment

toward local assets. NIGERIA MARKETS

Nigeria plans to issue 171.83 billion naira ($1.09 billion) in treasury

bills ranging from 3-month to 1-year maturities at its regular bi-monthly

debt auction on Oct. 11, the central bank said on Thursday.

NIGERIA DANGOTE FLOUR

Nigerian billionaire Aliko Dangote on Thursday sold 63 percent of Dangote

Flour

to South African consumer goods firm Tiger Brands

in a deal worth $188 million, brokers said.

KENYA MARKETS

Kenya's stock market inched up on Thursday, driven by a jump in shares of

Equity Bank

as investors cheered the appointment of new senior

managers to drive expansion and strategy.

The shilling closed the day flat against the dollar, while the Nairobi

Securities Exchange's main NSE-20 share index

added 2.43 points

to close at 3,961.05 points, rising for a second day in a row.

UGANDA POLITICS

Police in Uganda on Thursday arrested Kizza Besigye, the country's most

prominent opposition leader, after firing teargas to disperse his

supporters at an anti-government rally in Kampala, the police said.

SEYCHELLES INFLATION

Consumer prices in Seychelles rose 0.3 percent in September from a month

before, pushing the year-on-year inflation rate SCCPIY=ECI to 7.7 percent

from 7.8 percent in August, the government statistics office said on

Friday.

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((Compiled by Nairobi Newsroom))

((Email: nairobi.newsroom@reuters.com; tel: +254 20 222 4717))

Keywords: AFRICA FACTORS/