STOCKS NEWS AFRICA-Morocco's stocks flat, seen lower this week

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1610GMT 26Jul2010
Morocco's stocks flat, seen lower this week

Morocco's blue chips ends barely changed and traders expect the index is expected to remain in a negative territory this week.

'We predict that market's losing trend to continue for at least some of the next sessions this week because of profit-taking,' a trader at CFG brokerage says.

The index is down 0.4 percent, with bourse heavyweight Maroc Telecom losing 1.2 percent.

(Lamine Ghanmi; [e-mail], [phone]))


1426GMT 26Jul2010
Nigeria's Union Bank gains on H1 earnings, index rises

Shares in Union Bank gain almost three percent after the lender says it swung to a 12 billion naira pre-tax profit in its half year to June from a loss a year earlier.

Union Bank rises 2.84 percent to 5.85 naira, helping lift Nigeria's all-share index 1 percent.

(Reuters Messaging: [e-mail])

($1 = 150 naira)




1407GMT 26Jul2010
SAfrica stocks seen lower this week, charts bearish

South African stocks are expected to finish the week lower after adding more than 3 percent last week, traders and charts predict, but the results from stress tests on Europe's largest banks are likey to set the agenda.

'We're in uncharted territory now. Every time we get to the 28,0000 level on the All-share (index), we pull back, so we could see some profit-taking this week,' says Barend Saayman, a trader at PSG Online Securities.

Since May the All-Share index has twice failed to sustain a run above the 28,000 mark.

Charts sugggest there is little room for further advances. The index's slow stochastic is currently above the overbought mark of 80, while its 14-day relative strength index, or RSI, is nearing the overbought level of 70.

The slow stochastic and RSI are gauges of momentum used by technical analysts.

In another bearish signal, the index is trading above its upper Bollinger band.

'I think we might see a bit of profit but a lot will depend on what's going on with stress tests in Europe and earnings results in the U.S.' Mitchell Gannaway, a trader at Thebe Securities says.

In a bid to reassure financial markets, Europe's banking watchdogs are conducting stress tests to assess the resilience of their banks to economic shocks and market risks.

Investors are also expected to keep an eye on U.S. and domestic companies earnings while local economic data in the form producer price and consumer price inflation are due later in the week.

((Reuters Messaging: [e-mail]))


1322GMT 26Jul2010
SAfrica's Gold Reef tumbles after H1 profit warning

Shares of Gold Reef Resorts extend losses, falling 5.1 percent to 16.50 rand after the South African gaming and resorts firm says it expects first-half profit to decline by as much as 25 percent.

The company did not give a reason for the expected decline in profit.

((Reuters Messaging: [e-mail]))


1220GMT 26Jul2010
Kenya shares seen flat ahead of vote

Kenya's main index, the NSE-20 is expected to be flat this week as investors bide their time ahead of next month's referendum on a new constitution for east Africa's largest economy. It edged down 1 percent last week.

'I sense the markets will be thin until the referendum result. The polls are showing a 'yes' majority and the market is skewed that way,' says independent analyst Aly Khan Satchu.

Analysts say banking sector shares will continue to be in focus after two large banks unveiled positive growth for the first half. Barclays Bank Kenya is falling after touching a two-year high of 70 shillings last week, they add.

'Barclays is a correction. (It) had been rallying for the better part of the last month,' says Johnson Nderi, an analyst at Suntra Investment Bank.

((Reuters Messaging: [e-mail]))


0820GMT 26Jul2010
South African stocks gain after bank tests

South African stocks extend gains on Monday, as results from Friday's bank stress tests in Europe buoy markets globally.

The JSE Top-40 index of blue chips edges up 0.22 percent to 25,389.54, while the broader All-Share index gains 0.25 percent to 28,494.47.

A close at this level would be the Top-40's highest finish since early May.

Of the 91 banks tested in Europe on Friday, only seven have failed, showing an overall capital shortfall of 3.5 billion euros ($4.5 million), a much smaller figure than the 30 to 100 billion euros predicted by markets.

The JSE's financial index edges up 0.34 percent, poised for its highest finish since the middle of April

Financial services company Old Mutual is up 1.18 percent to 13.76 rand, while South Africa's No.4 bank, Nedbank Group gains 0.94 percent to 138.55 rand.

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0729GMT 26Jul2010 - S.Africa's Avusa declines as shares go ex
dividend

South Africa's Avusa drops 2.4 percent to 20 rand as shares of the media company trade ex-dividend, or without the right to a dividend, from Monday.

Also trading ex-dividend are shares of investment bank and asset manager Investec, which are down 0.7 percent at 58.88 rand. For a list of ex-dividend dates, click on . Keywords: MARKETS AFRICA STOCKSNEWS (Reuters Messaging: [e-mail]) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2010. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.