NAIROBI, July 9 (Reuters) – The following company announcements, scheduled economic indicators, debt and currency market moves and political events may affect African markets on Tuesday.

GLOBAL MARKETS

Japan’s Nikkei hit a record high on Tuesday, while investors elsewhere waited anxiously to see if Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell would sound supportive of rate cuts after evidence the U.S. labour market is cooling.

WORLD OIL PRICES

Oil prices slipped on Tuesday, extending losses from the previous session, after a hurricane that hit a key U.S. oil-producing hub in Texas caused less damage than markets had expected, easing supply concerns.

SOUTH AFRICA MARKETS

The South African rand strengthened on Monday, as risk sentiment improved on bets that an interest rate cut by the U.S. Federal Reserve is close.

NIGERIA ECONOMY

Nigeria plans to suspend taxes on certain food imports including wheat and maize for 150-days, and recommend a retail price to try to bring under control rising prices in Africa’s most populous nation, its agricultural minister said on Monday.

KENYA MARKETS

Kenya’s shilling was steady on Monday, but it was expected to gain ground in the next few days due to increased dollar inflows from tea exporters, traders said.

KENYA SOVEREIGN RATINGS

Moody’s cut Kenya’s sovereign rating deeper into junk territory on Monday, citing diminished capacity to implement a fiscal consolidation strategy to contain its debt burden.

GHANA DEBT

Ghana has cleared a key hurdle to restructure its international bonds, as its official creditors confirmed the proposed debt rework was not overly favourable to bondholders.

IVORY COAST COCOA

Cocoa arrivals at ports in top grower Ivory Coast had reached 1.612 million metric tons by July 7 since the start of the season on Oct. 1, down 27.5% from the same period last season, exporters estimated on Monday.

((Compiled by Nairobi Newsroom))